Time to Choose
by wendydarling78
Summary: Joe forces Stephanie to choose between him and Ranger, so she does.  Now she just has to hope that Ranger will choose her, too.  Joe, of course, is not happy with her choice.  Will he let her go gracefully?  Eventual Babe HEA.  Cupcake warning.
1. Chapter 1

I am not Janet Evanovich. If I were, I guarantee there would be a LOT MORE Ranger smut in each and every book! Instead, I'll just write it for myself and anyone else who wants to read it here!

This is my first attempt at fanfic. I would really appreciate any and all advice you can give me! (Be gentle!)

Chapter 1- Ultimatums

I jumped as my phone started playing the Batman theme song at full volume. Running across the small living room, I grabbed it off of the end table and answered out of breath.

"Yo!"

"Babe that's my line!" Ranger replied. I could picture his lips twitching into his almost smile and the lines around his eyes crinkling.

"I know. I stole it from you! What's up?" I teased back, wondering why he was calling.

"You free for a distraction job tonight?"

"Sure. Where, when, and what outfit?"

"Rage. 10:00. Something short, tight, and black."

"Got it." I answered back.

"Babe." Click. I exhaled a frustrated breath. Didn't this man ever say goodbye? Of course, 'Babe' was a lot closer than the usual nothing I got. That was an improvement right? Some sort of acknowledgement that the conversation was over and that he would be hanging up soon. He was such a frustrating man! Good thing he was drop dead gorgeous! That made forgiving his phone manners a little easier.

I glanced over at the clock. It was already 6:00. I still had to eat dinner and get ready. Four hours _sounds_ like a lot of time, but as any Jersey girl knows, you can never have too much time to get ready! And I, Stephanie Plum, was a Jersey girl through and through.

I checked every cupboard in my kitchen in case the food fairies had decided to stop by with leg of lamb, pot roast, lasagna, or pineapple upside down cake. They hadn't. I was going to have to go food shopping soon; that was for sure! My cupboards had the remainder of a loaf of bread- the 2 heels that I had been neglecting, a jar of peanut butter, a can of tomato soup, an expired box of macaroni and cheese, and some hamster crunchies. The fridge wasn't much better. I had a bottle of ketchup, some mustard, 1 egg, a half empty butter container, 3 bottles of beer, and a jar of olives. Hmm. No cheese to make a grilled cheese, so the soup was out. No milk to make the expired macaroni and cheese. I guessed I was having a peanut butter and olive sandwich. I made my culinary masterpiece and washed it down with a bottle of beer. I would have liked something for dessert, but unless I wanted dry macaroni or ketchup, I guessed I was out of luck.

I headed for the bedroom to assess my clothing options for tonight's job. Rage was a new bar in town. Being a new bar, it was still gaining a reputation. I had been inside once. The walls were French whorehouse red and the chairs and booths were upholstered in black vinyl. The wall decorations had consisted of things that suspiciously resembled torture devices. The waitresses wore black leather bustiers, black leather hot pants, black fishnets, black FMPs, and dog collars. They carried whips, and for an extra $20, they'd use them. _Shiver!_ I decided to shower first and worry about my wardrobe after. Otherwise, I'd still be standing there debating (unshowered) at 9:55!

I showered, shaved, plucked, and moisturized. I assessed my face and hair in the mirror. What look was I going for tonight? I thought back to my one other stop at the club. Slutty, definitely slutty. As in leather, whips, and chains slutty. I grinned at myself in the mirror. This might be fun after all. OK, OK, so it was a job, I got that, but whenever I got dressed for my distraction jobs, I always thought about the reaction that I would get from Ranger as well as the skip we were going after. I made my hair huge and curly. Then I started in on my makeup. I smudged kohl around my eyes and painted my lips a blood red. I swiped on four coats of mascara. That looked pretty good if I did say so myself.

Hmm… I stood in my black lace pushup bra and thong and tapped my foot as I surveyed my options. Ranger had said short, tight, and black. A wicked grin spread across my face. "Ask for, and ye shall receive, Ranger!" I thought as I reached into my closet. I pulled on a plastic skirt that barely covered my ass and a pair of black fishnets. I found a pair of black knee high boots with a 4 inch heel and zipped them on. Still in my bra, I started flipping through the tops in my closet trying to find something that would complete the ensemble. Still shirtless, I heard the locks on my front door tumble and the door open.

"I'm almost ready, Ranger!" I hollered out to him.

I heard footsteps headed towards the bedroom and squeaked when the door opened. It wasn't Ranger. It was Joe. He looked me over from head to toe. His eyes and jaw had a hard set to them. "You're almost ready for what? A night of streetwalking? Jesus, Cupcake! I think some of the hookers on Stark Street might actually have longer skirts than that!"

I crossed my arms across my chest in an attempt to keep myself somewhat covered and glared back at him. "I'm doing a distraction tonight, not that it's any of your business. What are you doing here?"

"I left you a message a couple of hours ago saying that I'd bring Pino's and beer. The boys miss you, Cupcake. I thought maybe we could watch a movie … or something." A slow, sexy grin spread across his face as he said _or something._

I rolled my eyes. The boys missed me. Snort. Translation- Joe was horny. "I didn't get the message, Joe. I must have been in the shower. Sorry, but I can't tonight. I have plans."

The grin on Joe's face was replaced by a cold sneer. "Right. You have to go be Manoso's whore for the evening. Sorry. I forgot."

My fingernails dug into my palms as I tried to reign in my temper. It wasn't working. "Knock it off, Joe! I have a job to do."

He took a step closer to me and I could see the fury in his eyes. "You're going out dressed like that. With Manoso. And you expect me to be OK with that? I don't think so, Cupcake."

I took a step back and narrowed my eyes. "You're not my mother, Joe. It's not up to you to approve my outfits. Yes, this is what I'm wearing. We're going to Rage, and this fits the dress code. Now I think you should go."

"Cupcake, come on. Be reasonable. If you want to wear something like this for me, then fine. But I won't allow you to wear this in public. Especially not with Manoso." He took another step closer.

That did it. "What do you mean _you won't allow me to wear something like this?_ We broke up Joe. We're over, done, finished! You have no right to tell me what to wear, where to go, or who to be seen with. Now get out!" I screamed at him.

He smirked at me and stepped closer, so that our bodies were almost touching. "You'll come back, Cupcake. You always do. And when you do, I don't want to hear the ribbing from the guys about you whoring around with Ranger. Now change your skirt." He glared at the end of the statement.

My hand reached up all on its own and slapped Joe across the face. I actually have no recollection of my brain ordering it to happen, but it did. Joe yelped in surprise and then grabbed me by the tops of my arms and shook me. "What the hell, Stephanie?" he roared.

I squeaked in response and looked up at Joe's angry face. His lips were set in a thin line and his nostrils flared as he tried to keep his breathing under control. "Change. The. Damn. Skirt. Better yet, take the whole outfit off and cancel on Manoso."

I struggled against Joe's hands, and he dug his fingers into my arms. "Ow, Joe! That hurts!" I whimpered.

Joe let go of my arms, looking almost shocked that he had been holding me so tight. He shook his head as if to clear it and glared at me. "Cupcake, if you go out with them tonight dressed like this, don't bother calling me again. I've had enough of the comments. You can't be my girlfriend and his whore anymore. You're going to have to pick one."

I just stood there and stared in Joe in shock. My mouth was hanging open, and if my eyes were any wider, they would have popped out of my head.

"Well?" he ground out angrily.

"Are you serious?" I asked in disbelief. "Are you actually waiting for me to answer you?"

"Yes, Stephanie." He said sarcastically. "Which is it? My girlfriend or his whore?"

I snapped and lunged at him. Joe was caught off guard and we both fell to the floor. I was crying and throwing punches wildly. "I am not a whore!" I shrieked at him.

Joe scowled and rolled me over. Straddling my waist, he pinned my hands above my head. "Damn it, Stephanie!" he yelled. "Which is it? My girlfriend or Manoso's whore?"

I kicked and squirmed, but it was no use. He had me pinned to the floor. "Fine!" I spat. "You want me to pick one so bad? I'd rather be Ranger's whore than your girlfriend!"

Joe growled and raised his hand to slap me. I squeezed my eyes closed and winced, waiting for the sting, but it never came. I cautiously opened my eyes and saw why. Ranger was standing over Joe, holding his wrist. _Crap!_ How much had he heard?

Ranger yanked Joe off of me and none too gently passed him off to Tank and Lester who were standing in my doorway with murderous scowls on their faces. _Crap, crap, and double crap!_ How many Merry Men were in my apartment and what had they heard?

Tank and Lester shoved Morelli into the living room and from all of the banging around, I'd say that he "tripped" quite a few times on his way through my apartment.

Ranger knelt down and ran a finger from my temple to my chin. "Babe," his voice was low and concerned "are you OK?" That did it. I couldn't take anymore. I started sobbing. Not quiet tears leaking down my cheeks. Not a little sniffle. Huge, racking, unattractive, snot-producing sobs. I covered my face with my hands and wailed.

Ranger drew me up off of the floor and positioned me so that I was straddling his lap. One hand gently pushed my head down on his shoulder while the other rubbed soothing circles on my back. "Ssshhhh, querida. It's OK." He murmured. He whispered Spanish words in my ear in a low, calming voice and rocked back and forth.

I finally got myself somewhat under control, just a few hiccups escaping. I lifted my head off of Ranger's shoulder. His eyes were dark, showing concern and maybe just a little anger. I was hoping that anger wasn't directed at me. "Thanks for rescuing me again, Batman." I whispered in a scratchy voice, my throat raw from crying. I made a move to stand up off of Ranger's lap, but he stopped me.

"Babe. I think we need to talk." He said in a serious voice.

I nodded and looked down.

"What happened with Morelli tonight?" he asked.

I sighed. He tried to tip my chin up with his finger, but I refused to meet his eyes. "Babe." He said in a quiet voice. "Look at me. Please?"

I sighed again. That was cheating, and he knew it. I couldn't refuse him anything when he said please. I looked up, my eyes welling with unshed tears. He looked back at me with a pained expression on his face.

"Why wouldn't you look at me, Babe?" he whispered.

"Because I was embarrassed." I whispered back. I tried to look back down, but he tipped my chin back up again.

He cupped my face in his hands and stroked my cheeks with his thumbs. "Why were you embarrassed, Babe?" he asked.

"When did you come into my room, Ranger? How much of our argument did you hear?" I avoided his question with a few of my own. Besides, I needed to know.

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly. "I came in right as you were tackling Morelli to the floor, Babe."

"Then I'll bet you can guess why I'm embarrassed, Ranger!" I tried again to stand up, but Ranger wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.

"Babe. Don't be ridiculous. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Morelli was being an ass. You were right. You are NOT a whore. And you're definitely not MY whore. You're my Babe, my Wonder Woman." As if that made everything better, he leaned my head back and kissed the tip of my nose.

Just then Lester walked into the room. He squatted down next to Ranger and me. "You OK, Beautiful?" he asked. I nodded. "Did he hurt you?" I nodded again.

Ranger pressed his lips together in a tight line. "Where did he hurt you?" he growled.

"My arms," I whispered. "He grabbed the tops of my arms."

Ranger's expression darkened as he looked at my arms. Angry red handprints stood out in stark contrast to my light skin. Ranger gently ran his fingertips across the forming bruises. "Did he touch you anywhere else, Babe?" he ground out through gritted teeth.

I shook my head no.

I shivered and goose bumps popped out on my arms. I was still wearing just a bra. I had been in the process of choosing a shirt when the fiasco with Joe started. Ranger yanked his shirt off and pulled it over my head. I stuck my arms through the sleeves. He wrapped my legs around his waist and stood up, holding me tight to his chest.

"Let's go, Babe." He whispered into my ear.

"Go where, Ranger?" I asked, confused. "I don't think I'm up for the distraction tonight."

"The distraction's been cancelled, Babe. We're going back to Haywood. I want Bobby to take a look at your arms." He paused. "Will you stay with me tonight? I don't want him coming back here and starting something else."

I nodded and leaned my head down on Ranger's shoulder.

"Grab Rex." He ordered Lester. Lester nodded, and the three of us headed towards the living room.

Tank and Joe were sitting on the couch in the living room when we walked through. Joe looked at me curled up in Ranger's arms and let out a roar. He jumped off of the couch and started in our direction. Tank grabbed him and held him in place. He struggled against Tank's arms and glared at me. "Well I guess you've made your choice, Cupcake!" he spat angrily.

I buried my head in Ranger's neck and started crying softly.

Ranger stopped and addressed Joe in a low, menacing voice. "Yes, Morelli, she has. She's mine, and I protect what's mine. You touch her again, and they won't be able to identify what's left of your body."

"Are you threatening me, Manoso?" Joe screamed.

"Not a threat, Morelli. A promise. And I always keep my promises." With an evil smirk, Ranger strode out of the apartment, carrying me down the hall, into the elevator, through the lobby, and out to his Turbo. He buckled me in, and I collapsed into the soft leather, exhausted.

TBC

Please read and review! All comments are welcome! Please make criticism constructive so that I can use it to become a better author!


	2. Chapter 2

First let me say – WOW! Thanks to everyone who has added this story to their favorites and/or reviewed! I truly appreciate your kind words and suggestions more than you know! You've really encouraged this newbie to try another chapter!

One reviewer asked when this story takes place in the JE timeline. I have read through book 17, including all of the between the numbers. I have 18, but I can't bring myself to read it knowing that Steph and Ranger STILL won't be together at the end- sigh. So, I guess this would be after 17. Spoilers and background info from all of those books is possible.

**Rated for language and smut. If the smut offends you, don't read between the *s!**

Chapter 2 - Chicken

The drive back to Rangeman was quiet, and for once I was grateful that Ranger had slipped into his driving zone. It gave me a chance to think. I turned towards the window and leaned my forehead against the cool glass as thoughts and emotions flew through my head.

I was angry, scared, hurt, embarrassed, and confused.

The two men in my life made absolutely no sense!

What on Earth had possessed Joe to come over tonight, of all nights? We had broken up 4 months ago. I hadn't even heard from him in at least 2 months. All of sudden tonight he wanted to have pizza, beer, and watch a movie? _Or something? _Jeez! And did he actually think that telling me I needed to choose between being his girlfriend or _Manoso's whore_ was going to end well for him? Gah!

And then there was Ranger. He was every bit as frustrating! Thanks to the low number of skips, I'd been working at Rangeman practically full time for months. He knew that Joe and I were over. Mr. I'm an Opportunist. Mr. I'll Be in Your Bed as Soon as It's Empty for Too Long. Ha! Four months! Four stinkin' months! And other than running into him at work or doing a distraction, there was nothing. Zip, zilch, nada, nothing. Some flirting in the break room or my cubicle, some necking and groping when he attached my wire. That's it. And then he says "She's mine, and I protect what's mine," to Morelli? What the hell had he meant by that?

Is it possible to get a cramp in your brain? If it is, I definitely had one right now. I let out a sigh and rubbed my temples, trying furiously to make some sense out of tonight. So I guess I was back to Joe's ultimatum- Did I want to be his girlfriend or Ranger's whore? Although I didn't especially appreciate the language, Joe was actually pretty accurate with the choices. He wanted to date, get married, and have kids. Ranger pretty much just wanted sex with no strings attached. Sigh. I didn't know what the hell I wanted! Actually, that's not true. I just didn't think that what I wanted- namely a relationship with Ranger- was an option right now.

I stared blankly out the window as we pulled into the Rangeman parking garage. Sighing, I stood up and climbed out of the car. Ranger raised an eyebrow at the sigh, and I just shook my head. Hey! Look at me having an ESP conversation with Batman!

Ranger put his hand to the small of my back and led me to the elevator, fobbing us up to 7. I wandered into the kitchen, my mind still going a hundred miles a minute.

Ranger leaned against the counter. Since I was wearing his shirt, his gorgeous mocha latte skin was still on display. _Yum! _"So what did Morelli want tonight?"

"No idea." I answered honestly. "He said he left a message, but I didn't get it. I must have been in the shower when he called. He brought over Pino's and beer and wanted to know if I wanted to watch a movie _or something_." I did little air quotes around the _or something._

Ranger's expression darkened at that. "You didn't invite him over tonight?"

I looked at Ranger incredulously. "No! I was getting ready for the distraction. Why would I invite him over?"

Ranger lifted his shoulders a fraction of an inch, his version of a shrug.

I glared at him. What the hell was he saying? "We broke up 4 months ago. I haven't heard from him for months now. I have no idea why he stopped over tonight."

Ranger crossed his arms over his bare chest. "Just thought maybe you gave him the impression that he was welcome to stop by, that's all."

I narrowed my eyes at him. Was he _trying _to pick a fight with me? Blame this all on me? What difference did it make _why_ he was there? "What are you saying, Ranger?"

A muscle near his jaw jumped. "You guys have been in this cycle for years. On again, off again. I'm just pointing out that your words and your actions don't always match up." And then he smirked at me. _Jerk!_

"Don't you smirk at me!" I shrieked at him. "You are every bit as bad! You say one thing but do another! You tell me that you're an opportunist, promise me that if my bed is empty too long, you'll be in it. Then nothing! You're all talk!"

"Is that what you want, Babe? You want me to make good on those promises?" His eyes were dark and dangerous, and there were little frown lines around his eyes and mouth. I couldn't tell if he was disappointed or pissed at me. My brain was screaming _RETREAT_, but my mouth was in high gear, and there was no stopping it now!

"Everyone on the street thinks you're a badass. Grown men piss their pants when you glare at them, but you know what? I think you're a chicken!" _Oh my God! Did I really just say that? _

"What?" he practically roared.

"You heard me! You're a chicken! You told Joe you always keep your promises. So put up or shut up, Carlos Manoso!"

Ranger stared at me in disbelief for about 3 seconds before he strode across the room. He pressed himself up against me, pinning me to the wall. I swallowed hard. One arm snaked around my waist, yanking me against him and his other hand fisted in my hair. "Oh, I'll put up, Stephanie!" he whispered before his lips came crashing down on mine. There was nothing tender and loving about that kiss. It was ferocious and possessive. I felt like he was branding MINE across my lips.

The hand around my waist slid down to my ass. He grabbed one cheek and squeezed hard, pressing me against him. He broke off the kiss and leaned back long enough to pull his shirt off over my head. I gulped in some air, but before I could ask him what the hell he was doing, his lips were back on mine. His warm skin pressed against my bra and bare skin, and I forgot that I wanted to say anything at all.

He lifted me up, both hands cradling my ass. I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist, and I could feel how hard he was. I groaned and rubbed against his length, winding my arms around his neck. His right hand traveled up my leg to the top of my fishnet thigh highs. He grabbed my black lace thong and gave a sharp tug. The thin fabric gave way with a rip, and he flicked my ruined panties towards the couch. Two fingers teased my dripping lips. "_Dios_, Babe, you're so wet! Is this all for me?" he asked huskily.

"Yes!" I gasped. Ranger growled as he slammed his fingers inside of me. I screamed and tossed my head back, his fingers pumping quickly in and out of me.

I began panting and thrusting, riding his fingers. I could feel the low burn growing in my belly, and I closed my eyes and started chanting, "Oh God, Oh God, Oh God!"

"That's it." Ranger whispered hoarsely, curling his fingers inside of me. "Cum for me."

"Ranger!" I screeched and clawed at his back, shuddering as my muscles spasmed and clenched around his fingers.

I was still riding the wave of my orgasm when I heard the rasp of a zipper. Ranger pulled his fingers out, and I groaned. Before I could miss the feel of them inside me, I felt the tip of his cock at my entrance. My breath hitched, and he buried himself inside of me in one hard thrust. I let out a scream at the sudden invasion and started to move, but his hands gripped my hips, and stopped me. "So hot, so tight." Ranger ground out through clenched teeth.

He took a few deep breaths. Getting himself under control, Ranger pulled out and slammed himself back inside me. God! I had forgotten how big he was! With every fast, deep push, my walls stretched to accommodate his girth, and I could feel his head nudging my womb. "You feel so fucking good!" he growled. I moaned in agreement.

One of his hands tangled in my hair and yanked my head to the side, exposing my neck to him. He licked and nibbled from my ear to my shoulder before finally latching on to the base of my neck. I let out a shriek as he bit and sucked greedily on my pulse point. I knew there would be a mark, but right then I didn't care. He could do whatever he wanted as long as he kept pounding into me.

"Is this what you wanted?" he asked roughly.

"Yeeeeesssss!" I groaned, digging my nails into his back.

Both hands locked onto my ass then, and he began to speed up his thrusts, pressing my back against the wall as he pumped in and out. Somewhere in the back corner of my mind I registered the fact that the textured wall was biting into the soft flesh of my back, but that thought was pushed aside when his lips crashed down onto mine. His tongue forced its way into my mouth, tasting me, taking what he wanted. He bit my lower lip and sucked it into his mouth, growling.

From the speed and force of his thrusts, I could tell that he was close. His fingers began circling my clit. "Cum with me," he ordered in a gruff voice. He pinched my clit roughly between two fingers, and I was gone.

"Ranger!" I screamed as I bucked and thrashed against him.

Seconds later he shouted my name as I felt burst after burst of his cum coat the inside of me.

Ranger leaned into me, his legs trembling, and we both slid down the wall. We ended up lying on the floor, a tangle of hot, sweaty limbs. My heart was racing, and I was trying to get my breathing under control. My head was resting on Ranger's chest, my cheek right above his heart, and I smugly noted that I wasn't the only one who seemed to be affected. I have no idea how long we stayed like that on the floor, wrapped around one another. It seemed like hours but was probably only ten minutes. We were brought out of our stupor by a loud banging on the door to the apartment. Lester's voice called out jokingly, "Get your clothes on! We're coming in!" _If he only knew!_

I leaped up off of the floor, intending to head for the bathroom, but my legs wobbled underneath me. I grabbed onto the dining room chair to try to steady myself but somehow only succeeded in knocking it over and falling back onto the floor.

Ranger just stared at me. He was trying to keep his blank mask on, but it wasn't working. He grabbed his shirt off of the floor and yanked it back over my head before pulling me to my feet. He kicked the tattered thong under the couch as Lester, Tank, and Bobby came barreling in.

Ranger inclined his head towards the living room. I turned to lead the way and wobbled. Ranger reached out and wrapped an arm around my waist, steadying me as I blushed a deep red. The guys traded worried glances and Bobby stepped closer.

"You OK, Bomber?" he asked, concerned.

I blushed again and just nodded.

Tank and Lester settled into the two leather recliners, leaving the couch for Ranger, Bobby, and me. Ranger led me over to the couch and pulled me down next to him. Bobby sat on my other side.

"Ranger said he wanted me to check out your upper arms?" Bobby clarified.

I nodded again and pushed up the sleeves of Ranger's t-shirt.

Bobby sighed and looked at Ranger. "There's too much fabric bunched up for me to be able to see the tops of your arms. If the other guys go into the kitchen, would you feel comfortable taking off the shirt? Or do you want to go change into a tank top?"

Before I could answer, Tank spoke up. "We'll step into the kitchen." He made eye contact with Ranger. Ranger nodded and got up to follow him and Lester. Damn ESP! Although I could guess what Tank wanted. Probably something to do with Joe. Hmm… I wonder what they did with him after Ranger and I left?

"Bomber?" Bobby's voice broke through my musings.

I grabbed the hem of the shirt and yanked it over my head, blushing. Bobby has checked me over numerous times. And my strapless bra was pretty much the same thing as a bikini top. In fact it covered more than some of my bikini tops, but still! Sitting in front of a guy in your bra is uncomfortable!

Bobby ran his fingers lightly over my arms and had me move them all around- out to my side, up and down, over my head.

"I think you'll be OK. It doesn't look like anything more than bruising. It'll probably hurt, and your arms may swell just a little, but you should be fine. Take some aspirin if it bothers you too much, or you can try rubbing some of this on the bruises." He held up a tube of medicated cream.

I nodded and leaned over to grab Ranger's shirt off of the floor.

"Jesus Christ!" Bobby yelled.

I jumped and stared at Bobby wide eyed. He stared back with an outraged expression on his face.

Ranger, Tank, and Lester ran back into the room. I squeaked and pulled Ranger's shirt against my chest as quickly as I could, so that I wasn't flashing my bra to Tank and Lester.

The guys looked back and forth, between my shocked face and Bobby's furious one.

"What the hell did Morelli do to your back?" Bobby roared.

My back? What was he talking about? I looked at Bobby, confused.

"Huh?" I ever so eloquently replied.

Lester interrupted. "Her back's fine, man. I saw it back at her apartment. Not a scratch on it."

Bobby took a deep breath. Then he answered in a slow, measured voice as if Lester and I were either really young or really slow. "Your back is bleeding, Bomber. You have scratches and marks all over it. What happened?"

I just stared at Bobby. My back was bleeding? Since when? "I… I don't know." I answered.

Bobby leaned across the couch and turned me so that my back was facing the guys. He gently pushed against my shoulder so that I was bent over.

I heard all three of them suck in a breath of air, and I was pretty sure that at least one of them had mumbled a few choice words under his breath.

"What happened?" Bobby repeated.

Lester was directing his blank face at Ranger. "Her back didn't look like that at her apartment, man. What happened in the last half hour?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced over at Ranger. He looked like he was going to be sick. When I looked at him, he lowered his eyes and wouldn't meet my gaze. What the hell? Why was he acting guilty? It wasn't his fault if I had scratches on my back, right? Then my brain clicked into high gear. Shit! Yes, it WAS his fault! Well, OUR fault. I certainly hadn't been complaining at the time, but evidently my back had been rubbing against the textured wall a little harder than I had originally thought!

"I'll get some ice." Ranger turned to walk into the kitchen, and I let out a strangled cry. Omigod! His entire back was _covered _in red nail marks! It looked like he had wrestled a grizzly bear to the ground!

Lester followed my gaze and choked out a laugh. "Damn, Beautiful!"

Ranger turned around and glared at Lester. "What the hell is so funny?"

Lester smirked. "Nothing, cuz. But I think we may have solved the case of the mysterious marks on Beautiful's back. I'd say whatever caused hers probably caused yours, too."

Ranger took one more look at my now horrified expression and put two and two together. "Santos, mats 0500!" he barked. Then he headed into the bedroom to grab a shirt.

Lester smirked at me. "You need to register those nails! They could be considered lethal weapons!"

I blushed furiously, and Tank frowned and smacked him upside the head. "Ow!" Lester whined.

Bobby led me into the bedroom and had me lay down on the bed so that he could clean and treat all of the scratches. Ranger finished pulling on a shirt and sat next to me on the bed, holding my hand. When Bobby stepped out to get his supplies, Ranger leaned down and brushed a curl behind my ear. "I'm so sorry, Babe. Your back looks horrible. I guess I got a little carried away."

"_We_ got a little carried away." I corrected him. "And it was worth it." I smiled and squeezed his hand. Ranger started to say something else but stopped when Bobby came back into the room. Bobby cleaned all of the scratches carefully and started rubbing cream into them. It felt so good, so relaxing. Add the fact that I was lying on thousand thread count sheets after a stressful day, and it's no wonder that I was drifting off into dreamland.

Somewhere in the back of my brain, Smart Sensible Stephanie was lobbying for me to stay awake and have a grown-up, mature talk with Ranger about what had just happened. Unfortunately for her, Stupid Stephanie had decided to pull a Scarlett O'Hara and worry about that tomorrow. After she got some sleep. Lots and lots of sleep.

_TBC_

_Let me know what you think! _


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry! I tried to block off the smut in chapter 2 with *s, but the formatting on fanfic took them out-? I hope no one was traumatized! ;) Advance warning for more smut in this chapter!**

Thanks again for all of the great messages and reviews! I have tried to respond to everyone. If you haven't heard from me, you may have messaging blocked.

Chapter 3 – Mine!

I was in dessert heaven, lying on a giant piece of pineapple upside down cake. It was still warm, and I couldn't resist licking off a giant scoop of whipped cream. "Mmmmmm, so yummy…" I moaned. I could see a ring of pineapple up ahead with a juicy cherry right in the center. I leaned over to it and startled nibbling on the cherry. All of a sudden, my pineapple upside down cake started bouncing up and down. What the hell? Was I on a pineapple upside down cake flavored trampoline or what? "Hold still so I can have a bite!" I ordered the cake. Then I bit down on the cherry- hard.

"Babe!"

Why was my pineapple upside down cake talking to me? And why was it calling me Babe? Only Ranger was allowed to call me Babe! Ranger. Shit! I slowly opened my eyes and found myself lying on a warm, naked Ranger. He was wincing and rubbing a _very red_ nipple. Hmmm….

"Dreaming of me, Babe?" he smirked.

"Don't flatter yourself! I was dreaming of a giant piece of pineapple upside down cake!" I smirked back.

Ranger barked out a laugh and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me down on top of him. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" he asked, shaking his head.

I smiled my most innocent smile at him and batted my eyelashes.

"Trying to convince me you're sweet and innocent, Babe?" Ranger grinned.

"Of course. I'm a very good girl." I answered in a husky voice as I peered at Ranger through my eyelashes.

He groaned, and part of the "dessert" I was laying on got noticeably harder.

"Sorry, Babe," he growled. "But your status has been permanently changed to bad girl." He pulled me up his body, and I was _very _aware that he had slept naked. No silk boxers, nothing. Be still my crazily beating heart!

"You're overdressed." He whispered and pulled off the only article of clothing I was wearing – his t-shirt.

We both groaned as our bodies rubbed against one another. God, I loved to feel his skin against mine!

His hands tangled in my hair and pulled me down slowly. He pressed his lips against mine, kissing me softly.

"_Dios, _Babe! What you do to me!" he moaned against my lips.

Since he had been completely in control of the activities earlier tonight, it was only fair that I was in charge now, right? With that thought in mind, I straddled his waist and began kissing his neck. Ranger grabbed my waist and started to roll us over, but I sat up, preventing him from ending up on top. He turned my face towards his, and I could see the question in his eyes.

"My turn to be in charge." I whispered in his ear.

He growled, his eyes growing dark and filling with lust. He lay back, breathing heavily. I could tell it was difficult for him, but he laid still and let me explore every inch of his neck and chest with my tongue, lips, and teeth. His hands fisted in the sheets as I slowly drug my tongue around his bellybutton. When I flicked my tongue across the head of his cock, his eyes flew open and his hips jerked off of the bed. I locked my eyes on his as I slowly licked his entire length.

"Babe!" he gasped. "I'm not going to last long if you keep that up!" As much as I wanted to take him in my mouth and watch him lose control, I selfishly wanted him in me even more. I leaned down to suck the skin at his hip in my mouth, leaving a mark, and then licked and nipped my way back up his body.

I straddled his hips, and he reached up to caress my breasts, palming them in his dark hands. He pinched the nipples, tugging with just the right amount of pressure. I rocked my warm, wet center against his length, and we both groaned at the delicious friction. I grabbed his cock in one hand, stroking him up and down a few times before I positioned myself above him. As I slowly lowered myself onto him, his hips jerked up, and he was buried deep within me. I cried out, and he grabbed my hips, panting. "I tried, Babe, but I couldn't take it anymore!" he groaned.

His hands on my hips raised me up and plunged me back down on him as if I weighed nothing. At the same time, he was thrusting up hard and fast to meet me. After only a few strokes, I was ready to come undone. "Ranger!" I panted "I'm so close!"

"Cum for me, Babe." He whispered in a husky voice. I could see a thin layer of sweat on his forehead as he thrust into me over and over.

I screamed as I came, collapsing on his chest. He rolled us over then, never pulling out of me. He yanked my legs over his shoulders, and I cried out. This position made everything so intense! I could feel every hard inch of him, and he rubbed my g-spot with each thrust. I arched my back, and he grinned. "Does that feel good, Babe?" I wasn't capable of coherent speech, so I only moaned my assent.

He reached down between us and pressed one finger against my drenched and swollen lips. Getting it wet with our juices, he moved his finger up to my clit and began to stroke the hard nub. "I'm almost there! Cum with me!" he panted.

My nails dug into his thighs as I cried out, and seconds later he followed me over with a final thrust and a "Stephanie!"

He collapsed on top of me for just a minute, breathing heavily. I gasped for breath too, while my inner muscles twitched and milked him of every last drop. Finally regaining his breath, Ranger rolled onto his side, still buried deep inside me. He pulled me so that I was snuggled into his chest. I sighed happily. I loved feeling his warm skin on mine.

Suddenly my brain began working again, and I froze. Skin on skin? _Crap!_ Ranger wasn't wearing a condom, and we hadn't used one last night either. He must have assumed that I was on the birth control pill or shot. Unfortunately, that assumption was wrong. There were too many times where I could barely afford my rent and groceries. I had to cut back on "extras," and the birth control was one of the first things to go. My reasoning was that Joe always wore a condom anyway. Mostly because of our one time pregnancy scare, but also because I wasn't a hundred percent sure that he was always faithful. When I had started working at Rangeman and actually had enough money to buy such "luxuries" as birth control, I was single. It seemed silly to pay for birth control when I didn't even have a date. Sigh. Yep, that's me. Always prepared. Great. How exactly did I go about bringing up this subject? Not to mention the discussion about what the heck was going on with the two of us?

Ranger was holding me tight, drawing lazy circles on my back. He must have noticed me tense up as I pondered how on earth I was going to broach the subjects of a relationship and birth control with Batman. "Deep thoughts, Babe?" he whispered.

"Um, Ranger, can we talk?" I began, but I was interrupted by the landline ringing.

"One second, Babe." Ranger leaned over me to answer the phone.

From the change in his voice and his stiff shoulders, I could guess that the call wasn't good news. He slammed the phone back down in the base and slowly pulled out of me. We both groaned at the feeling of loss, and Ranger stood up. "We'll have to talk later, Babe, sorry. The alarm just went off at one of our biggest client's. The cameras are showing two intruders in the store. I have to go."

I nodded my understanding and pulled the sheet up over my chest as Ranger quickly pulled on his cargos and the t-shirt I had slept in. I scooted down to the edge of the bed where he sat tying his boots. I touched his cheek. "Try not to get shot." I said softly. Ranger flashed me his killer grin.

"Try not to go crazy, Babe." He replied. "Go back to sleep. We can talk when I get back, OK?"

I nodded again and watched as Ranger slid a gun into his waistband and ankle holster and a knife into his boot.

He walked out of the bedroom, and I heard the apartment door shut. I lay back down on the bed and covered my stomach with my hands. I couldn't be, right? I sighed and looked at the clock. 3:30. Why did the bad guys only come out at ungodly hours of the night? And how the hell was I supposed to go back to sleep with all of these crazy thoughts running through my head?

I tried to go back to sleep, but I spent the next few hours tossing and turning and having strange dreams. In one, I was pregnant with twins- one that was Joe's and one that was Ranger's. I woke up screaming from that one. I think the reason why is pretty self-explanatory. Gah! _Full body shiver!_

By the time the clock read 6:30, I had given up on getting any more quality sleep. Ranger still wasn't back, but I got up anyway. I took a nice long shower and enjoyed the Bulgari body wash, excellent water pressure, and huge hot water tank that made Ranger's shower infinitely better than _my_ sorry excuse for a shower. Since I had so much time, I actually styled my hair and put on makeup. I found an extra uniform that I had left in Ranger's closet and pulled it on. I wandered into the kitchen and rummaged through the cupboard that Ranger had dubbed mine. It was full of all of the contraband that was verboten in the rest of the building- Tastycakes, candy, peanut butter, sugary cereal, Pop-Tarts, and the like. I found a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and poured some out. I knew that Ella would bring me pancakes or anything else I wanted, but I always felt guilty asking her to bring up something just for me. I finished up my cereal and rinsed out the bowl, leaving it in the sink.

I checked the clock. 7:55. If I headed down now, I would be on time for the 8:00 Morning Meeting. Hmmm…. This might actually be the first Morning Meeting that I would be on time for. Ever. In the entire time that I had been employed at Rangeman. That in itself made it worth going down for!

The Morning Meeting was at 8:00 so that the Core Team could catch the night shift going off duty and the morning shift just going on duty. The conference room was always packed full of muscular men in tight black uniforms. Since I almost always arrived late, I usually chose to stand against the back wall to avoid disrupting the meeting. Today, though, I was on time! When I walked through the door, Lester did a double take. He fell out of his chair in mock surprise and cried out, "Beautiful! Did someone mess up your alarm clock? You do realize it's 8:00 am, right?"

I flipped Lester the bird and the rest of the Merry Men chuckled as I walked over to sit next to him and Bobby. Bobby leaned over. "Hey, Bomber. How are your arms feeling?" he asked in a quiet, concerned voice.

"Fine, thanks." I replied, smiling at him.

"And your back?" Lester asked with a mischievous grin.

I blushed furiously and smacked Lester on the arm. I had just gotten settled when Tank and Ranger walked in, talking in hushed tones to one another. The attitude in the room immediately shifted from lighthearted to "officer on deck." I rolled my eyes. Once a military man, always a military man, I guess.

Ranger walked to the front of the room and scanned the assembled group. When he got to me, his eyes widened ever so slightly. Bobby and Lester smirked knowingly and looked down, trying to hide their expressions. "Gentlemen, Babe." He nodded his head in my direction. I blushed and smiled back.

Lester wagged his eyebrows at me, but I refused to acknowledge him. The men each gave reports on their assigned areas and duties while I zoned out and thought about the serious discussions that Ranger and I would soon be having. Groan. _Why me?_ Ack! Now I sounded like my mother! Was that a sign? As soon as you get pregnant do you get weird mom urges to moan and complain? I sat still. No urges to iron or tipple. _Phew!_ Evidently I exhaled a little too loudly because Lester and a few other guys were looking at me like I had grown another head. I just grinned back and shifted around in my seat, trying to pay attention as Binkie droned on about the break-in last night.

After several more agonizing reports, the meeting finally broke up. I was headed towards my cubicle to run some searches when I heard Ranger call my name. I stepped back into the room and waited while it cleared out. "I'm surprised to see you up so early, Babe! I got ready down in the gym so that you could sleep in." Ranger grinned.

I gave him a rueful grin back. "I couldn't sleep. I had a lot on my mind."

The blank face slammed down, and Ranger looked at me. "Anything to do with what you wanted to talk about earlier?"

I cleared my throat, but my voice still came out a little strangled. "Everything to do with that, actually."

Ranger nodded in acknowledgement. Truly, he barely moved his head a fraction of an inch, but it was as close to a nod as Ranger got. He motioned for me to walk through the conference room door. I assumed that he'd want to talk in his office, so that's where I headed, Ranger following behind me.

I sat down on the leather couch, and Ranger settled in next to me, holding my hand and tracing patterns on my palm.

"You wanted to talk?" he prompted. I took a deep breath and nodded. Just as I had gotten up the courage to begin, my cell phone rang.

I looked down at the screen and groaned. My mom. I answered the phone as cheerfully as I could, "Good morning, mom!"

"Stephanie Michelle Plum! What's this I hear about Joseph getting attacked at your apartment? How could you allow those men to harm your fiancé? Do you know that he's considering filing charges for assault? Why me? Maryellen Colucci's daughter never has armed men attacking her fiancé!"

I mimed banging my head on the coffee table while my mom continued her rant, and Ranger smirked. When I finally couldn't take it anymore, I interrupted her. "Mom! Joe and I are not engaged. He is not my fiancé, and no one was attacked." Hmmm…. I didn't _think_ anyone had been attacked. Best not to tell my mom that I didn't know what the Merry Men had done with Joe after I left.

"Well, according to Mrs. Donatelli, Joseph came over to have dinner with you and was attacked by Ranger and his men." My mom said in an accusatory voice.

"He came over unannounced with a pizza, and we got into an argument. The guys came over to pick me up for a job we had to do last night, and Joe left. That's all, mom. Nothing else exciting. Now I have to go! I'm at work. I'll talk to you later!"

"Fine, but I expect you at dinner tonight, Stephanie!" my mom demanded.

"We'll see, mom. Work is pretty busy right now. If I don't make it tonight, I'll definitely stop by for dinner soon."

We exchanged goodbyes and I hung up. Taking a deep breath, I looked at Ranger. "Sooooooo…." I began weakly.

Ranger looked at me expectantly, but I couldn't make my mouth form any words. He searched my eyes and must have seen panic there because he took my hands and began rubbing them soothingly. "Stephanie, what's wrong?" he asked in a low voice. _Crap._ He used my full name. He only does that when he's serious or pissed at me. Since I hadn't started talking, I knew he wasn't pissed _yet._ But he probably would be soon. Very soon. Like as soon as he found out I wasn't on the pill.

I cleared my throat. "Well," I began weakly. "I thought we should probably talk about what happened last night."

Ranger nodded and continued to sit quietly, blank face in place.

I blew out a breath. "What did you mean when you told Joe I was yours?"

Ranger looked startled for a just a second before he recovered, but I could still see little tension lines around his eyes. "Babe?" he clarified.

"You said 'She's mine, and I protect what's mine.' I want to know what you meant. There's no point in us discussing anything else until you answer that." My heart was beating double time.

Ranger looked slightly pained. I wondered if he wished he could take back what he said. Of course, instead of answering the question directly, the man of mystery had to throw a new question back at me. "What did you mean when you told Morelli that you'd rather be my whore than his girlfriend?"

I blushed. "I'm pretty sure you know what I meant."

He looked at me with a calm, steady gaze. "Clarify it. Just in case."

I took a deep breath and blew it out. "Joe wanted me to choose. Those are the two options he gave me. He's always been jealous of you. He has accused me of cheating on him with you more times than I can count. Every time we have an argument, he blames you. Every time we end up in an off phase, he blames you. I know I told Joe that I would be happier being your whore than his girlfriend, but I can't do that, Ranger, and I think you know that. I can't do casual sex. What I meant was that I can't be with Joe anymore. I'm tired of the fighting, the belittling comments, and the judgment. I want to be with someone who understands me, someone who gets me, someone who doesn't want to change me into their idea of the perfect woman." I took a deep breath and looked down at my hands. "And I guess I was hoping that that someone could be you."

I peeked up at Ranger through my lashes and saw him sitting very still, almost as if he were in shock. "Your turn to explain." I whispered.

He gave his head a slight shake, as if he were trying to reorganize his thoughts. The glazed look left his eyes and instead they became dark and filled with emotion. "I think I'd rather show you what I meant." He said huskily. He gently laid me down on the couch and kneeled down beside me. He placed a soft kiss on each eyebrow, my nose, chin, and forehead. After each kiss, he whispered _mine._ My eyes filled with tears as I realized what he was telling me. He _did _want me!

His lips crashed down on mine, hungrily possessing my mouth. "Mine!" he growled. He kissed that magic spot behind my ear that always makes me shudder and then trailed kisses along my jaw and down my neck to my shoulder. When he got to the spot where my shoulder and neck met, he bit down hard on the mark he had left last night, sucking my skin into his mouth. "Mine!"

I cried out at the sharp sting of pain, and he unbuttoned my cargo pants and pulled my pants and thong down and over my sneakers. He nipped and kissed up my thigh, leaving little love bites as he went. When he finally reached my aching center, he found me wet for him, and he groaned. He growled, "Mine!" as he lowered his mouth to my pussy. I gasped as he licked my slit from bottom to top then plunged his tongue deep inside of me. Soon he added 2 fingers and began pumping them in and out of me while I moaned and bucked my hips. I was so close. I could feel it building, and then he pulled his fingers out of me. I whimpered and opened my eyes, searching for him.

"Don't stop!" I pleaded breathlessly.

"Mine!" he barked out, as he plunged his fingers back inside of me.

As I shattered, I grabbed Ranger's arms. "Yours!" I screamed.

A possessive look filled his eyes. He stripped off his pants and climbed onto the couch, hovering above me. His lips met mine for a searing kiss. He ended it by gently tugging on my bottom lip with his teeth. He nuzzled my neck and whispered into my ear, "You are mine, querida. For now and for always." He positioned himself at my entrance and paused, searching my face.

"Yes, Carlos." I whispered. "I'm yours."

He froze and leaned down, brushing his lips against my ear. "I love the sound of my name on your lips." he said softly. "There's only one thing I'd like more."

"What?" I asked breathlessly.

"To hear you scream it." And with that, he thrust himself in me, completely filling me.

At his sudden invasion, I threw my head back and screamed, "Carlos!"

At the sound of his name being screamed from my lips, Carlos let out a roar. His face got a frenzied look, and he thrust in and out of me almost urgently. I gasped and moaned as he did wonderful things to my body.

Soon his hands grabbed my hips just a little bit tighter, and his thrusts became harder and faster. I knew he was close. So was I. We both exploded at the same time; me shrieking "Carlos!" while he roared "MINE!"

He collapsed onto the couch, holding most of his weight off of me. I gasped and panted, trying to get my heart rate and breathing under control. When I finally had, I brushed my fingers through his hair and whispered, "Carlos, please tell me that your office is soundproof."

At that, I got the 1,000 watt smile. "Nope. Sorry, Babe!"

I groaned and buried my head in my hands.

_**Still more important discussions to come, but this chapter was already getting long! Let me know what you think!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**I had some extra time, so I got this chapter out a little early. I know a lot of people were awaiting the baby/pregnancy drama, so let it begin!**

**It's not mine. **

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and messaged me. A special thanks to Margaret who suggested that the Merry Men set off a glitter bomb and celebrate when Stephanie and Ranger come out of the office. LOL! Thanks for the encouraging reviews!**

***Smut and cupcake warnings apply!**

_**At the sound of his name being screamed from my lips, Carlos let out a roar. His face got a frenzied look, and he thrust in and out of me almost urgently. I gasped and moaned as he did wonderful things to my body.**_

_**Soon his hands grabbed my hips just a little bit tighter, and his thrusts became harder and faster. I knew he was close. So was I. We both exploded at the same time; me shrieking "Carlos!" while he roared "MINE!" **_

_**He collapsed onto the couch, holding most of his weight off of me. I gasped and panted, trying to get my heart rate and breathing under control. When I finally had, I brushed my fingers through his hair and whispered, "Carlos, please tell me that your office is soundproof."**_

_**At that, I got the 1,000 watt smile. "Nope. Sorry, Babe!"**_

_**I groaned and buried my head in my hands.**_

Chapter 4 – Things Best Left Unsaid

Ranger chuckled and pulled me against him. "At least now all of my men know who you belong to."

"They _already_ knew." I said, lightly punching his chest.

Ranger's cell phone rang from the floor, buried in the tangle of our pants. He reached down and grabbed it. "Yo!"

He listened for a minute and then growled, "Tell them to get back to work!" before ending the call and tossing the phone back on the floor.

He smirked down at me. "Tank had to break up the mob that was crowded outside the door. He threatened them all with mat time if they didn't get back to work."

"Oh my God!" I moaned, blushing furiously. "Please tell me that you have a secret passageway somewhere in this room that will take me directly to the 7th floor!"

I felt Ranger's chest shake as he silently laughed. He bent down and kissed my shoulder, nipping it gently. I moaned as his lips moved from my shoulder up my neck. "Stop." I whispered softly, but it didn't sound convincing even to my ears.

"You really want me to stop, Babe?" Ranger murmured as he nibbled on my earlobe.

I felt him grow hard in me as I whispered back, "God, no!"

He smirked and had just leaned down to claim my lips when someone started banging on his office door.

Lester called through the door in a high pitched, feminine voice "Housekeeping! You want fresh towels? Candy for pillow? Condoms?"

"I am going to _kill him_." Ranger snarled. I was horrified and trying not to laugh all at the same time.

Ranger pulled out of me, still hard and at attention. I groaned and licked my lips as he stood in front of me, naked. He leaned down and brushed my lips with a quick kiss. "Want to have lunch together on 7?" he asked, lips twitching. I bit my lip and nodded which only made him groan as he pulled on his cargos. "You're a bad influence on me, Babe! All I want to do is cancel all of my meetings for today and take you upstairs."

I blushed and pulled my pants on. I walked into the little bathroom that was attached to Ranger's office and checked out my reflection. Hmmm… swollen, red lips that wouldn't quit smiling, bright eyes, a healthy glow, and tousled hair. Yep, added to the bright red hickeys, I looked thoroughly fucked.

Ranger walked into the bathroom and stood behind me, pulling me against him. "You look beautiful, Babe" he whispered, kissing me behind my ear.

I turned around and grinned. "Thanks, but I'd better get to work. My boss is a real hard ass." I grabbed his ass with both hands, pulling him towards me. Ranger growled and leaned down to kiss me possessively. Just as things were starting to get interesting, he pulled away and kissed my forehead.

I grabbed his hand and tugged him to the office door. He stopped right behind the closed door and looked at me questioningly. "Babe?'

"Oh no. You don't get to sit in here and hide behind your desk and a closed door! If I have to walk out there and face all of the Merry Men after having sex in their boss's office, so do you! You can walk me to my cubicle!"

Ranger smirked but nodded and opened the door, ushering me through.

I walked out on the control room floor to the sounds of applause and wolf whistles. There were grins on the face of every Merry Man. However, when Ranger followed me through the door, most of the guys were smart enough to turn their head or look down, blank expressions taking over. Several became fascinated with their computer screens or shoes. Lester, of course, was the exception.

Ranger had walked me to my cubicle and was giving me a "goodbye and have a good day" kiss that was the epitome of inappropriate office behavior when Lester strolled over. He was holding a gift bag and grinning like a Cheshire cat. Ranger gave him a warning glare and raised an eyebrow.

"Beautiful, Boss Man," Lester nodded at us. "I thought that maybe you two crazy kids have been a little too busy to get to the store. Didn't want you to run out of any necessary supplies, so I scrounged around my apartment and came up with a goodie bag for you. An assortment, if you will." At this, he wagged his eyebrows up and down and handed me the bag.

Knowing Lester, it was something embarrassing and inappropriate. I was sure that he gave it to me because he knew that my reaction would be far more amusing than anything Ranger would do. I bit my lip and looked inside the bag. Condoms. It was _filled_ with condoms. Colored, flavored, glow-in-the dark, ribbed. You name it; it was in there.

I gasped. _Condoms! Shit! We still hadn't talked about protection! Damn it! We did it again! What was that? 3 times without any protection? _

Lester looked at me wide eyed and choked on whatever brilliant comment he had been about to make.

Ranger raised both eyebrows, his eyes growing slightly larger. That would be the Ranger equivalent of Morelli waving his arms around and screaming "What the fuck, Cupcake?"

I blew out a shaky breath. "Out loud?" I squeaked.

"Yes." Ranger replied in an oddly strangled tone.

Lester still looked like he had seen a ghost. "Damn!" he whistled under his breath. "A kid that's half Bombshell Bounty Hunter and half Batman. I'm not sure Trenton's ready for that!" he backed away with a half dazed expression on his face and wandered to his office.

Ranger had his blank face on, and my heart crumbled. "I'm so sorry." I whispered. "It wasn't intentional. I just didn't think. I mean, at the time, it was the last thing on my mind. I just…." I shook my head, grabbed my purse, and ran out of my cubicle, tears threatening to spill over.

Ranger was frozen by my chair.

How can things go from practically perfect to horrible in the span of minutes?

I ran down the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator, and got to the garage only to realize that I didn't have a car there. I grabbed a set of keys from the box on the wall and hit the unlock button on the fob, waiting to see which Explorer's lights would flash. Identifying the car, I climbed in and peeled out of the underground parking garage. I drove around for a while, not sure where I wanted to go. Not RangeMan. That was all I could think. Anywhere but RangeMan. I brushed the tears from my eyes and gunned the engine, the speedometer climbing higher and higher.

My cell phone rang with the Batman theme song, but I couldn't talk to Ranger right now. I didn't want to hear what a disappointment I was from the one person who had always supported me. I could hear my mother now, _"Stephanie Michelle Plum! How many times in three years did I pray for Joe to get you pregnant? And nothing. But in two DAYS you manage to get knocked up by that thug? Why me? Marjorie Fiorini's daughter never got knocked up after two days of dating a street thug!"_

Wait a minute! I wasn't _sure _that I was pregnant. I mean, it was possible that I wasn't, right? Some people tried and tried to get pregnant and never did. Maybe it wasn't even the right time in my cycle for that! My next period wasn't due for another couple of weeks. Then I'd know. Oh, who was I kidding? This was Batman we were talking about for crying out loud! If it wasn't the right time in my cycle, his batsperm would pitch a tent and set up surveillance until it _was _the right time! At the first sign of an egg, they'd move into takedown mode. It was practically a done deal. I just had to wait a few weeks to pee on the stick and make it official.

My cell phone rang again. _"I'll be watching you… every move you make, every step you take…" _Ah, the tune assigned to the control room. Appropriate, no? I ended the call, but that made me think. Trackers! Crap! There was a tracker on the car. (It was, after all, a RangeMan vehicle.) Plus, Lord only knew how many trackers I had in my purse. Sigh. It was going to be hard to run and hide from Batman, that was for sure!

The Batman tune rang out for the second time, and once more I ended the call. Immediately after, I heard _"I'm sexy, and I know it!"_ I groaned as I checked the display. Lester had been playing with my phone again. When I ended his call, the phone rang again. _"He's the one they call Dr. Feel Good! He's the one that makes you feel alright."_ Bobby. End call. _"Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?"_ Tank. End call. Geesh! What were they doing? Standing around and taking turns calling me?

I should probably grow up and go back to RangeMan. I should probably have a grown up, adult talk with Ranger. I should at least answer my phone, right? No, not yet. I needed to collect my thoughts. I zoomed down the street and through the intersection just as the light turned red. I heard a siren and looked up to see a bubble light in my rearview mirror. _Crap! Just what I didn't need right now!_

I pulled over to the side of the road and looked in my rearview mirror again. Morelli was climbing out of his POS undercover police car and headed my way. _Shit!_ I wonder what would happen if I just drove away? Would he call for backup? Probably. He was being a real prick yesterday. I wouldn't put it past him!

He rapped on the window, and I rolled it down. "License and registration." He said in a no nonsense cop voice. I dug in my purse for my license and pulled the other paperwork out of the glove box without a word.

"Ms. Plum, this vehicle is not registered to you. It is registered to a RangeMan LLC. Are you the owner of this business?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Cut the crap, Joe. You know I work there. The car isn't stolen. Just give me my ticket for running the red light and let me go."

"Do you have any proof of employment? An ID card? A pay stub?"

"I'm wearing my fucking RangeMan uniform _right now!_ How much more proof do you need?" I hissed.

Joe smirked at me. "Actually, we had a black Explorer earlier today that was involved in a crime. No license plate was given. This car matches the description."

I just stared at him in disbelief.

Joe glared at me. "Ms. Plum, I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the vehicle. I'm afraid that I need to impound the car and take you in for questioning in conjunction with the earlier crime."

"What crime?"

"I can't give details on open police investigation, ma'am. Step out of the car."

I stared at Joe in shock. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Step out of the car, ma'am." He growled.

"No. This is ridiculous." My first thought was to call Ranger, but I wasn't sure that he was speaking to me right now.

Joe opened the door and pulled me out of the car. He hadn't raised a hand to me or done anything except speak in a gruff low voice, but I was still afraid of this Joe. Instinctively, I covered my belly. Joe's eyes widened as he saw the protective gesture. He looked up at my face and broke into a wide grin.

"Cupcake! Are you…? Are we…?" He was so excited that he could barely get the words out.

I silently shook my head no.

"Then what…?" he looked confused for a second, and then his eyes became murderous. "Him? You let him _touch_ you? You let him _fuck_ you? Jesus Christ!" He turned around and punched the Explorer, leaving a dent in the rear driver's side door. "You're pregnant with Manoso's baby? Then you _have _been cheating on me! All the times I asked and you said you weren't! Damn it, Stephanie! That should be my baby!"

"Stop! Stop it right now!" I cried. "I never cheated on you, Joe! Never!"

"I'm not an idiot, Stephanie. And you're not a virgin. Don't try to tell me there's a star in the East. There's nothing miraculous about this. If you're pregnant with Manoso's baby, then you slept with him! And if you slept with him, then you cheated on me! What is so hard to get?"

"First of all, I don't know for sure that I _am_ pregnant. But if I am, that's none of your business! We broke up four months ago! If I slept with Ranger after I broke up with you, that is _not_ cheating!"

"Yes it is, damn it! Because we always get back together! You're meant to be mine, Stephanie! Everybody knows about our on again, off again relationship. And everybody knows that you're still mine, even during those off phases. If you slept with Manoso, you cheated on me. It doesn't matter whether we were on or off!"

I shook my head. "This is ridiculous. I am not having this conversation with you right now." I moved to get back in the car, and Joe grabbed my arm.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Let go of me!" I seethed. "I. Am. Leaving. You can mail me my ticket for running the red light. We both know that you're making up the story about a black Explorer as part of a crime. You have no grounds to impound this car or take me in."

"That's where you're wrong, Cupcake." He sneered. "There was a report of a drive by early this morning down on Stark Street. Black Explorer. No plate given. Do you have an alibi for 3 am?"

"Actually I do." I answered coolly. "I was in bed."

"Shame no one can verify that." He smirked.

I looked him right in the eye. "I never said I was alone." I answered in an even voice.

He roared and before I could react, he slapped me as hard as he could across the face. It stung, and tears pricked my eyes instantaneously. I saw red, and I reached into my purse to grab my stun gun. Looking back, that was not a smart thing to do. You know, the whole pulling a weapon on a cop thing. Even though the cop was being a giant monumental ASS! The law still frowns on assaulting an officer.

Joe had me handcuffed and in the back of his car before I actually got a chance to _use_ the stun gun on him. A shame, really. He took great pleasure in parading me through the front of the police station, up and down every freakin' hall, before finally depositing me in an interview room. I laid my head down and started banging it on the table. Stupid, stupid, stupid! I sat there alone for a half hour before I heard the door open. I looked up, expecting to see Joe _the Ass_ Morelli. I was pleasantly surprised to see my cousin Shirley's husband Eddie instead.

"Eddie! Thank God!" I sighed. "Get me out of here!"

Eddie looked uncomfortable. "Sorry, Steph. I can't do that. Joe is charging you with assaulting an officer, running a red light, and a drive by shooting from early this morning."

My jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me?" I squeaked out.

Eddie shook his head. "I'm just here to see if you've made your phone call yet."

I shook my head no.

Eddie nodded and helped me up. "Come with me." he instructed. Great. Who the hell was I going to call? Vinnie couldn't do anything unless I was actually arrested and had bail set. My mother would have an absolute conniption if I called. I needed a lawyer.

Eddie handed me the phone, and I dialed the only person who had a chance in hell of getting me out of here.

"Yo!"

"Ranger?" I squeaked out. _I will not cry. I will not cry._

"Babe! Thank God! Where are you? Are you OK?" That was a mouthful for Batman! And he sounded so concerned.

I took a deep, shaky breath. "I'm at TPD. I think I'm about to be arrested. Can you please come and help me?"

_**TBC**_

_**Well, Stephanie, Ranger, and Joe know that a pregnancy is an option. They'll still have to wait a few weeks to find out whether or not she really is pregnant. What do you think? Should the future test be negative or positive?**_


	5. Chapter 5

WOW! Thanks for all of the kind reviews and the input over the baby drama! We'll just have to wait along with Steph and Ranger to see what happens!

*Cupcake warning- Joe is a manipulative, controlling ass in this story, just like he is in the JE versions!

**Chapter 5 – I Heard it Through the Grapevine**

**Joe's POV (as soon as they returned to the station)**

Damn it! This day was going from bad to worse! I ran my hands through my hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. I loved Stephanie. I really did. So why couldn't I control my temper when I was around her? It was all Manoso's fault! In all the times that Steph and I had argued, I had never laid a finger on her until yesterday. And that was only because she was talking about choosing _him_ over _me_. I mean, what the hell? And then this morning when she said that she had been with him last night, I just completely lost control. All this time, I thought I had escaped the Morelli curse. I had worked so hard to keep from being labeled as an abusive alcoholic like the rest of the men in my family, and instead I ended up fulfilling the damned prophecy.

But I couldn't help it! The thought of him _touching_ her! _Fucking _her! _Getting her pregnant!_ She'd better not be pregnant! Fucking Manoso! I threw my coffee cup across my office and watched it shatter against the wall.

What was I going to do? By now, there was bound to be a bruise on Steph's cheek. Or at least a bright red handprint. Add that to the handprints on her arms from last night, and she was going to look like a damned abused woman. Too bad Manoso hadn't been the one to leave those bruises on her. I could have him locked up for a little while.

Wait a minute! That's it! There were no witnesses to today's traffic stop. No one saw me slap Stephanie. It would be my word against hers. I saw those hickeys up and down her neck. Some of them could pass for other sorts of bruises. I grimaced, but knew that there were probably other marks that he had left on her body last night and this morning. That would all work in my favor, though. The bruises on her cheek, arms, neck, and whatever else he had marked up could be explained away as an abusive relationship between the two of them. I would be completely off the hook.

A grin spread across my face. This just might work. The first thing I'd have to do would be to call my mom and activate the Burg grapevine. Steph hated to be the topic of gossip around the Burg, but I'd provided the information more times than she knew. My hope was that if she got embarrassed enough by people talking about her disastrous failures as a bounty hunter, maybe she would quit and give up on that stupid job. It would give me a chance to provide for her. It had almost worked a few times. Maybe this would finally be the push she needed.

I picked up my phone and called my mom. She answered right away.

"Mom?" I asked in a distraught voice.

"Joseph! What's wrong? What is it?" Her own voice was full of concern.

I blew out a deep breath. "It's Stephanie. I don't know what to do, mom! I'm so worried about her."

My mom's voice held a little less compassion when she found out that I was calling about Stephanie. My family would accept her once we were married, I knew that. But for right now, my mom and Grandma Bella couldn't understand why a young lady from the Burg didn't want to get married. Honestly, I didn't understand that part either. Added to that, my family, of course, thought that I was a great catch- handsome, with a good job, and my own house. This just made Stephanie look like an even bigger fool as far as they were concerned. Again, I agreed, but I was certain that I could change her mind. She would come around; she always did. After all, she had been mine since she was 6 years old. There was no way that I was giving up on her now!

"What happened?" she asked patiently.

"I pulled her over this morning for running a red light. I noticed that she had a bruise on her cheek. It looked like someone had slapped or punched her. I asked her to step out of the vehicle so that I could see if she had any other injuries. I moved to examine her, and she must have thought that I was going to hurt her. She grabbed her stun gun out of her purse and tried to attack me with it. I had to restrain her before she hurt herself or me. I couldn't get her to relax or calm down. I had no choice! I had to bring her in for assaulting an officer. But what am I going to do? How can I help her?"

My mom had gasped and _tsk, tsk-ed_ through my whole story. I knew that she was sufficiently shocked. This story was definitely going to hit the gossip chain as soon as we hung up.

"Oh, Joey! You are so thoughtful, so selfless! Always wanting to help others! But I don't understand why Stephanie would ever think that you would hurt her? Why wouldn't she let you help her?" 

"I know, mom, I know. But sometimes when women have been abused, they start to fear all men. They flinch at sudden movements and feel threatened from innocent gestures like someone reaching out a hand."

"Oh, how terrible!" my mother wailed. "Poor, Stephanie! She is lucky that she has you to look out for her! Who would do such a thing? Do you know who hurt her?"

I took a deep breath and blew it out. "I think it's her boss, Ranger Manoso. You know, the Cuban guy that owns the security company in town. I think they may be dating."

"Well!" my mother huffed. "That would just serve her right for leaving you and thinking she could do better."

"Mom!" I admonished. "I love Stephanie. I want to help her. Even if some of this _is _her own fault because she chooses to hang around with thugs like that. I'll do whatever I can for her." I knew that last part would definitely get passed around. That's exactly what I wanted! I wanted everyone to pressure Stephanie to leave Ranger and come back to me.

"Of course, of course!" my mom agreed.

"Well, mom, I should probably go. I have a lot of work to do here, and I have to see what I can do to help Steph. Thanks for listening. It always makes me feel better to talk to you and get things off my chest." I grinned. It always made me feel better when I could get my version of the story into the grapevine first.

My mom's voice was filled with pride. "You call me any time, Joseph, any time! I am always happy to help you work through your problems!"

"Love you, mom! Talk to you soon!"

"I love you, too, Joseph. Goodbye!"

"Bye, mom."

I hung up the phone with a deep sense of satisfaction. I knew that Steph would tell people that some of those bruises had come from me and that some had been from a night of rough sex with Ranger, but she underestimated me. The first rule of gossip was that people always believed what they heard first. It didn't matter if it was true or not. Now when people heard her say that the bruises were caused by me, they'd think she was trying to protect Ranger. After all, we'd dated on and off for 3 years, and she'd never had a bruise until now. Until she started hanging around Manoso more and more. If she tried to explain the bruises away as love bites or rough sex, people would assume that he was too rough, violent, in the bedroom and she was covering for him. You had to love human nature!

Now to go talk to some of the guys before Steph did. Eddie, Carl, Big Dog …

**(Bold section from the end of Chapter 4)**

**Steph's POV**

**Eddie handed me the phone, and I dialed the only person who had a chance in hell of getting me out of here.**

"**Yo!"**

"**Ranger?" I squeaked out. _I will not cry. I will not cry._**

"**Babe! Thank God! Where are you? Are you OK?" That was a mouthful for Batman! And he sounded so concerned.**

**I took a deep, shaky breath. "I'm at TPD. I think I'm about to be arrested. Can you please come and help me?" **

"Arrested?" Ranger asked incredulously. "What happened?"

"Joe pulled me over for running a red light, and things kind of escalated from there." I blew out a shaky breath. "Can you come down, please?"

"On my way, Babe. Have you been officially charged with anything yet?"

"Not yet, but according to Eddie it's only a matter of time."

I could hear rustling and footfalls in the background and guessed that Ranger was running down the stairs as he talked. "I'm calling an attorney as soon as I get off the phone with you. Don't say or sign anything, you hear me?"

I nodded and then realized he couldn't see me. "Yes." I whispered. "Thanks, Ranger."

"No price. I'll be there in 10. Sit tight." And he disconnected.

I hung up and took a deep breath, willing myself to stay strong. When I turned to walk back to the interview room with Eddie, I saw a strange look on his face. His eyes were hard, and his mouth was set in a straight line.

"What?" I asked him, completely confused.

He shook his head and put a supportive arm around my shoulders. "Want a cup of coffee, Steph?"

"Sure." I answered in a hollow voice, settling back in my uncomfortable hard plastic seat.

Eddie grabbed two cups of coffee, along with some creamers and sugar packets, then flopped down across from me. "There wasn't anyone else you could call, Steph?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"I just don't understand why you would call _Ranger_ to help you after all he's done." He still had the hard look on his face.

"Eddie, I have no idea what you're talking about! Ranger has always been there for me."

He leaned forward, his palms flat on the table. "Is that the problem, Steph? That he's always there? He's not here right now. You can talk to me, tell me what's going on. I'm a police officer, but I'm family, too. I can protect you from him, you know."

Now I was completely confused. Protect me from Ranger? What the hell was he talking about? Had I missed something major? I just stared at Eddie, my eyebrows knotted together. "Huh?"

"Steph, look, you don't have to be afraid of him. I can help you file charges against him. We can get you a restraining order. He won't be allowed anywhere near you."

"Are you talking about Ranger?" I clarified.

Now it was Eddie's turn to look confused. "Who else would I be talking about? Is there someone else abusing you that I should be aware of?"

"Look, Eddie, I have no idea why you think that Ranger would hurt me, but he wouldn't. If you're referring to the lovely bruise on my cheek, that would be from your pal Joseph Anthony Morelli, not Ranger."

Eddie looked like he was in shock. "Want to tell me what happened?" he asked.

"Are you asking me officially or just as a concerned friend?" I questioned.

Eddie slouched back in his chair. "Completely off the record."

"Joe is an ass." I snarled, violently ripping open two sugar packets.

Eddie raised his eyebrows at me but didn't say anything. I filled him in on the confrontation in my apartment from the night before and the less than professional traffic stop this morning. Eddie is an easygoing guy. He has to be to put up with my annoying cousin, Shirley-the-Whiner, and the hellions that are his children. I have very rarely ever seen Eddie get angry or raise his voice, so when he roared "What?" at the end of my story, I jumped and spilled my coffee all over the table.

"Shit! Sorry!" Eddie apologized and grabbed a wad of napkins, mopping up the table. "Just so you know, Steph, that is nothing close to the version that Joe is telling everyone."

I glared at Eddie. "What is he saying?"

Eddie sighed and rubbed the top of his head. "He says he went over to your apartment last night because you the two of you were planning on getting back together. He said you guys were talking and…" He paused and nervously shifted in his seat.

I had no idea where this was going. "Spit it out, Eddie." I growled.

Eddie cleared his throat "He said that Ranger showed up with two of his guys while the two of you were talking. According to Joe, Ranger had Tank restrain him while he took you to Haywood. Joe said he spent the whole night looking for you, to make sure you were alright. When he found you this morning, he said that it looked like you and Ranger had gotten in a fight. He saw the handprint on your cheek and assumed Ranger slapped you when he found out that the two of you were planning to get back together."

I sat in stunned disbelief. "You have _got_ to be kidding me!"

Eddie shook his head.

"If that's really what happened, then why would I attack Joe when he pulled me over? Wouldn't I be glad to see him?"

"Well, he said he was confused by that, too. He didn't know if you perceived all men as a threat after the abusive relationship that you and Ranger have been in for the last few months or if you blamed him for not keeping Ranger away from you. He said you got so violent that he was afraid you'd accidentally hurt yourself or him. He claims that he cuffed you and brought you in to give you a chance to cool down. He's considering dropping the charges after you get a chance to calm down and think more clearly."

I shook my head, eyes wide, and mouth hanging open. For the first time in a long time, I was speechless.

Eddie reached across the table and grabbed my hands. "Steph, look at me."

In a daze, I looked up and made eye contact with him.

"Promise me that Ranger didn't leave that mark on your face."

That snapped me out of my fog. I wanted to yell and scream at Eddie for even suggesting such a thing, but when I looked at his face, all I saw was concern. He wasn't insulting me or Ranger. He was trying to look out for me. I was pretty lucky to have Eddie in my life!

I squeezed his hands. "I promise, Eddie. This came from Joe this morning."

Eddie let a breath I didn't know he'd been holding. "OK, Steph, thanks. I couldn't let him see you here or leave with you until I knew for sure. You know I'd do anything for you, but I have to admit that standing up to Ranger and all of his guys wasn't something I was looking forward to doing."

I leaned across the table gave him a kiss on the cheek. "That would just be suicidal, Eddie!" I gave him a small smile.

He laughed and patted my hand. "Agreed!"

We sat in silence for a minute until I remembered the other ridiculous charge that Joe wanted to pin on me. "What about the supposed drive by shooting that I committed on Stark Street this morning?"

"You're just going to be questioned about that because of the similarity of the vehicle. That should be an easy charge to get dropped."

I shook my head. "Yeah, because there aren't 8500 black SUVs in the Trenton area. I know of a garage that is housing about 15 of them right now."

Eddie nodded. "I know, Steph. Don't worry. That charge will never stick. Other than the similar car, there's nothing to tie you to that." He shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "But, just in case, you don't happen to have an alibi for 3 am, do you?"

I folded my arms across my chest. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do."

Eddie raised his eyebrows at me. "You have someone who can vouch for your whereabouts at 3am?"

"Ranger."

Eddie nodded. "Good enough for me."

Just then we heard a commotion in the hallway. There were several loud voices and some banging around. Eddie scraped his chair back and stood up, opening the door. I peeked around him and saw Ranger arguing with a rookie cop.

"I don't _care_ what your procedure is! You will show me where you are holding Stephanie Plum, and you will show me right now!"

The rookie was looking like he might have a heart attack right there in the hallway, but you had to give him credit. He _was_ trying to do his job and follow the rules.

"Ranger!" I cried.

He turned towards the interview room, and when he saw me standing there, I could see the relief wash across his face.

I pushed past Eddie and ran over to him, launching myself into his arms. He caught me quickly and wrapped his arms around me. "Thank God you're OK." He murmured into my hair.

I leaned back to give him a kiss, and a furious expression flickered across his features before his blank face slammed down. "What the _hell_ happened to your cheek?" he snarled.

_**TBC**_

_**Ranger is here! Yay! And he saw the bruise on Steph's cheek. Joe is trouble now! So, what do you think? Should the SUV have a camera that caught the whole "arrest" or not? Please let me know what you think! **_


	6. Chapter 6

Don't get too spoiled and expect so many updates all at once very often! I had a 4 day weekend due to Presidents' Day, so I am indulging a little and letting myself read and write a lot this weekend!

Thanks so much for all of the great reviews, private messages, alerts, and favorites! I can't believe the reviews are already up over 100! You Babes sure know how to make a girl feel special!

_**Previously:**_

**Just then we heard a commotion in the hallway. There were several loud voices and some banging around. Eddie scraped his chair back and stood up, opening the door. I peeked around him and saw Ranger arguing with a rookie cop.**

"**I don't _care_ what your procedure is! You will show me where you are holding Stephanie Plum, and you will show me right now!"**

**The rookie was looking like he might have a heart attack right there in the hallway, but you had to give him credit. He _was_ trying to do his job and follow the rules.**

"**Ranger!" I cried.**

**He turned towards the interview room, and when he saw me standing there, I could see the relief wash across his face.**

**I pushed past Eddie and ran over to him, launching myself into his arms. He caught me quickly and wrapped his arms around me. "Thank God you're OK." He murmured into my hair.**

**I leaned back to give him a kiss, and a furious expression flickered across his features before his blank face slammed down. "What the _hell_ happened to your cheek?" he snarled.**

**Chapter 6 – The Exam**

I opened my mouth to tell Ranger what had happened, but I was interrupted by Robin Russell. I hadn't even noticed her walking down the hall towards us, but there she was. Standing right beside us, she shot Ranger a look of disdain as he held me. I slowly slid down to my feet, but I held onto Ranger's hand. I couldn't stand the look on Robin's face. I was sure that Joe had spoken to her and that she was now one of the many officers at TPD who thought that Ranger was abusing me. Ranger had on his blank face, I'm sure trying to decide exactly what he had done to get on Robin's bad side. In general, Ranger and his men had a pretty good working relationship with the police.

"Stephanie," Robin began. "I need you to come with me."

I looked between Robin and Ranger. "Why?" I asked.

Robin refused to even look in Ranger's direction. "The doctor is here to assess your injuries."

Ranger's hands settled protectively on my shoulders.

Robin kept her eyes on me. "The doctor will check you over for bruises and document how they happened. If you wish to file any charges against your abuser, we can help you with that." She glanced briefly up at Ranger and then back to me. I know she was trying to be sneaky about telling me that they could help me press charges against Ranger if he was the only who had _really_ abused me, not Morelli.

I didn't think that now was a good time to tell Ranger about the rumors that Joe was spreading around the station. He would probably go ballistic, and I was going to be in another room, being examined. Maybe once the doctor had looked me over I would have a chance to sit down and talk to him. This wasn't really the kind of thing to say over your shoulder as you walked away, after all. _Oh, by the way, Morelli has told all of the guys here at the station that YOU are the one who assaulted me._

I looked up at Ranger questioningly. He had said not to do or say anything without an attorney present. Did that include the exam? After all, all they would be doing was looking at my cheek. They may need to take pictures, but I should be in and out in just a few minutes, right?

Ranger gave me a kiss on the forehead. "I'll wait here for the lawyer, Babe. Go ahead."

I nodded and followed Robin down the hall. Instead of leading me towards another interview room, she led me into the chief's office. I had been in here a few times when this office belonged to Joe Juniak. He was a distant relative and a good friend of the family. In the past year or so, he had begun pursuing a life in politics. His replacement, Chief Doyle, was someone that I didn't know very well at all. I had heard Morelli and the guys talk about him, and I had seen him in passing at the station. That was it.

I looked over at Robin. "I thought you wanted to examine my cheek and maybe take some pictures? Why are we going into the Chief's office?"

Robin guided me through the door. "We thought maybe you'd be more comfortable in here for your exam, that's all."

My eyebrows drew together, but I allowed Robin to gently push me through the door.

There were several people in the office- Chief Doyle, a uniformed officer holding a camera, a woman in a lab coat, and another woman in a business suit. The officer handed Robin the camera and walked out of the room without a word. Chief Doyle crossed the room and shook my hand. "Ms. Plum, I'm so sorry that we have to meet under these circumstances. I know about your close relationships with both Detective Morelli and Congressman Juniak. As a favor to them and to you, we are trying to handle everything here at the station quietly so that you don't have to go to St. Francis. Is that OK, my dear?"

I nodded. I _really_ didn't need another rumor about me circulating the Burg right now. It seemed as though the gossip from my latest disaster had finally calmed down, and I was in no hurry to provide a new story. At some point, I figured that everything with Joe would come out, but for the mean time, it could stay quiet.

Chief Doyle gestured to the women in the room. "Let me introduce you to the women here to help you today, then. We asked that Robin replace our usual photographer. She is more than capable of gathering the evidence needed, and we thought that you may feel more comfortable with her since she is a woman."

I nodded blankly. I didn't really care if the person taking pictures of my face was a male or female, but Robin was nice.

Doyle continued. "Dr. Weston is here to assess your injuries. She does many of our abuse cases for us." Dr. Weston nodded her hello. "And Dr. Greenwood is a therapist. She'll talk with you more after Dr. Weston's exam."

I wasn't sure why they thought I may need to talk to a therapist, but whatever. I just nodded again at the Chief, and he turned back to the ladies. "I'll leave so that you can gather your evidence. If you need anything, please let me know." Then he, too, walked out of the room.

Dr. Weston walked over with a smock that looked like it had been stolen from St. Francis. She asked me to go into the Chief's private bathroom and take off all of my clothing, coming out only in the gown.

I raised my eyebrows at her and gave her my _what the hell is going on here _expression. I thought they were just taking pictures of my cheek.

Dr. Weston smiled gently. "We're just going to look to see if the bruising is limited only to your cheek, my dear. Nothing to be concerned about, but for the safety of all parties involved, we need to document any other trauma or bruising."

I remembered the bruises that were on my arms. Those _should_ probably be documented as well, since they were also left by Joe. I picked up the gown and headed to the bathroom. Quickly shedding my RangeMan uniform and donning the thin cotton gown, I headed back into the Chief's main office. At least I now knew why there were only women present in the room.

"Ms. Plum, we've locked the door to the Chief's office so that no one accidentally wanders in. Are you comfortable with that? Or would you rather keep it unlocked?" Dr. Weston asked.

I shook my head. "No, locked is fine. I don't really want the guys roaming in and out. And please call me Stephanie or Steph. Ms. Plum is much too formal."

Dr. Weston smiled. "Alright, Stephanie."

Robin walked over then with a tape recorder and turned it on, stating the names of everyone in the room as well as the date and time. "This is just to keep an accurate record of everything that we're documenting, Stephanie. Is it OK with you if I use the recorder? Since I'm also taking pictures, I want to be sure not to miss anything."

I nodded. Robin smiled at me. "Stephanie has nodded, but Stephanie would you mind answering out loud? Just so that your consent to be recorded is official?"

"Oh, sorry!" I blushed. "Yeah, that's fine, Robin. I understand you need to record what's happening."

Dr. Weston walked over to me. "OK, Stephanie. Usually I like to do a top-down approach when examining abuse victims. That simply means that I start at the top of the body- the head- and work my way down to your toes. It's the easiest way to be sure that we don't miss anything. Otherwise, it can be easy to be distracted by a bruise here and there and end up jumping around, missing things."

I nodded my understanding and the doctor began gently massaging my scalp. "I don't feel any bumps underneath Stephanie's hair. I'm also not noticing any bruising or redness. Stephanie, are there any areas of tenderness on your scalp area?"

"No." I answered calmly.

"OK, then I'll move to the facial area. There are no marks on the forehead or on the right side of Stephanie's face. However, there is a large developing bruise on her left cheek. The bruise looks fairly new and may eventually lead to a black eye as well. This would most likely indicate that Stephanie was struck by someone who was right handed, assuming they were facing her during the attack. I am going to ask Officer Russell to document this injury."

Robin stepped over. "Stephanie, can you tell me what happened to your cheek?"

I almost blurted out _Joe smacked me_ without even thinking about it, but then I remembered Ranger's advice. Clearing my throat, I said "I think I'd like to wait to talk about my injuries until my attorney is present. I'd rather that you just gathered the evidence now."

Robin raised an eyebrow but didn't say a word. She took several pictures. Some were of my whole face and some were close-ups of the bruise. When she was satisfied with her documentation, she stepped back out of the doctor's way.

Dr. Weston spoke again. "I'll just finish the facial exam. Please open your mouth, Stephanie, so that I can take a quick look." I complied and Dr. Weston pulled out a flashlight.

"No loose teeth?" she questioned.

"No."

"Her mouth appears to be free of injuries. No loose, chipped, or missing teeth. Her lips are not cracked, swollen, or bleeding. I will move to the neck and shoulder area."

Dr. Weston had me move my head from side to side as she examined my neck. "There are several small bruises covering the neck area."

I blushed as Robin walked over and began to document my bruised neck. "Those aren't from the assault!" I squeaked out, but Robin kept clicking the camera anyway.

"Moving on to the trunk area." Dr. Weston announced as she untied the gown and pulled it apart in the back. I heard a sharp intake of breath and realized that she was staring at my back. _Crap!_

"Stephanie's back is heavily marked with what appear to be very recent abrasions and small cuts." She took out some small rulers and she and Robin worked together to photograph and verbally document the sizes of some of the larger marks on my back. I just sat there frozen, only partially aware of what they were saying.

When they finished with my back, they moved to my chest and stomach area. Again, they documented several "small bruises" that Carlos had left this morning as well as a light set of handprints on my hips that I didn't even know were there. They didn't hurt, and I didn't remember Carlos leaving them. Obviously I had been just as far gone as he had been when they were left there.

Dr. Weston had me put the gown back on and announced that she was moving on to my limbs. When she examined my arms, Dr. Weston found the handprints left by Joe. My legs were fine, except for more nips and small bruises left by Carlos this morning. I was absolutely mortified. How was I going to explain that _some_ of these marks were left in anger while _others_ were left in the throes of passion? And by two different men?

Once she was finished, Dr. Weston pulled a chair in front of me and took my hands. "I just have one last exam to do, Stephanie, but I'd like to give you a break first if you need one."

I was at a loss. I was pretty sure that close to every square inch of my body had been examined, photographed, and was now property of the Trenton police department.

Seeing my blank face, Dr. Weston explained. "I have been asked to do a rape kit."

I held the gown closed over my body and sat up straighter. "What?" I shrieked.

Dr. Weston patted my hand calmly. "Stephanie, often partners who are physically abusive are also verbally and sexually abusive. When we are called in to document an abuse case, we look at all of those possibilities. Officer Russell and I have already processed the evidence of your physical abuse. Dr. Greenwood is here to help you with any emotional abuse that you may have suffered. The rape kit will provide us with proof of any sexual abuse that you may have recently sustained."

I shook my head. "But I don't understand. He didn't rape me. He grabbed my shoulders and slapped me across the face. Why would a rape kit be necessary?"

Dr. Weston continued calmly. "You have the right to refuse one, Stephanie, but it is really in everyone's best interest for you to have one done. The police department is responsible for making sure that the right person is charged with the right crimes. If, in fact, your attacker did rape you, this will provide that evidence. If he did not, then there will be evidence to prove that that allegation would be false."

I just sat there confused. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't planning on accusing Joe of rape. If they did a rape kit, it would show that nothing had happened. I didn't really see the point in doing it, but I did understand what Dr. Weston was saying. It was just another piece of evidence. When I finally gave my consent, Dr. Weston helped me to lie back on the small couch in the Chief's office. She opened several swabs and tubes and asked Robin to verify the proper collection of the samples. I zoned out while she performed the kit, but I did hear snatches of their quiet conversation. _Presence of semen… redness in the vaginal area… _and when I flinched, _tenderness in the vaginal area_.

They were finally done, and Dr. Weston helped me to sit up. "Thank you, Stephanie. You have been most cooperative." She smiled and patted my hand.

I moved into the Chief's bathroom to get redressed, and when I came back out, only Dr. Greenwood remained. She was sitting in one of the leather chairs in front of the desk. The second chair had been turned to face her, and she motioned me over to sit down.

"Stephanie, Officer Russell has taken the recorder with her. Nothing that you say right now will be documented. It will all be purely confidential. I am here to help you with any emotional needs that you may have following your attack."

I just stared at her, so Dr. Greenwood continued. "For example, Dr. Weston indicated that there was a presence of semen when she completed the rape kit. How do you feel about that?"

_I was mortified! That's how I felt about that! And scared. What if I was pregnant? _

Evidently I had said all of that out loud because Dr. Greenwood nodded. "Those are all normal reactions to have, Stephanie. I can help you with some of that if you'd like. I am able to give you a prescription for the morning after pill in case you have become pregnant against your wishes. The pill is effective for up to 5 days after unprotected intercourse, but it is most effective the sooner that you use it. Ideally within 3 days. How would you feel about me giving you a prescription for that?"

I just stared at her, shocked. "But I'm Catholic." I whispered.

She took my hands. "I understand that, Stephanie, but it is still an option. If you aren't comfortable with that, then we can explore other options."

I looked at her questioningly. "Well, you may want to have a blood test done for STDs as well. Since you were not using protection, any STDs that your partner had may have been passed on to you. When we do the blood test in a few weeks, we can check for pregnancy at that time. If you are pregnant, we can discuss further options including terminating the pregnancy, adoption, or resources that can help you to raise the baby on your own. The Trenton Women's Center offers low cost or no cost housing for victims of domestic abuse. They also have many helpful programs there such as job training and daycare while you work."

My eyebrows knit together. "But I'm not in an abusive relationship." I protested.

"Stephanie. A man who loves you would not leave marks like that on your body."

I could feel my cheeks flaming a bright red. "Those marks are not from my boyfriend." It felt strange to refer to Carlos as my _boyfriend. _ But what else could I call him? My manfriend? My Batfriend?

Dr. Greenwood raised her eyebrows at me. "None of those marks are from your boyfriend?"

I cleared my throat. "Well, a few of them may be, but it's not what you think! We just got a little carried away last night. He would never hurt me!"

"What do you mean _a few of them may be?_"

I twisted my hands together and cleared my throat. I pointed at my neck. "These are… um…" I cleared my throat.

"Hickeys?" Dr. Greenwood offered.

I nodded. God, that sounded so juvenile! But it's what they were, right?

I pointed to my chest and legs. "Those are hickeys, too. Ranger would never hurt me."

"Then where _did _the other marks come from, Stephanie?"

"My ex-boyfriend. He's a cop here at TPD. He came over last night and things got a little heated. Then he pulled me over this morning and things escalated again."

She nodded. "And how do you feel about that, Stephanie?"

"Confused, I guess. In all of the time that we dated, Joe never laid a finger on me. Now that he seems to have accepted that we are done for good, he's hurt me twice in as many days. I just never thought that he would act like that."

She made some notes on her tablet. "Are you afraid of him?"

I sat back in my chair and thought hard about that. Before last night, I never would have been afraid of Joe. Even when he was screaming and waving his arms around. But this morning when he pulled me out of the SUV, I had been terrified of him. I looked up at Dr. Greenwood. "Yes. I never thought I would be afraid of him. He's been in my life forever. Sometimes just as a neighbor or distant friend, sometimes as a romantic partner. I would have never thought that this is where things would head with us."

"Has he assaulted you sexually in the past two days, Stephanie? Or just physically?"

"Just physically."

"So the traces of semen that Dr. Weston found…?"

"Are my from my boyfriend." I looked down at my hands. "Although that wasn't intentional. We just kind of forgot to use protection. Well I forgot. I think that he thought I was on the pill." I amended.

"How would you feel about getting pregnant with your boyfriend right now?"

I blew out a deep breath and scrubbed my hands across my face. "I've never wanted to have children. It's just never been something that appealed to me. To be honest, it terrifies me. I may want to have kids someday, but I don't think I want them right now. My boyfriend and I have been in a weird "friends with some benefits" relationship for years now. We just finally got together. We've only really been an official couple for a few short days. I think we need some time to figure out where the two of us are headed before we add anybody else into the mix."

Dr. Greenwood nodded. "And how do you think your boyfriend would react if you were pregnant?"

I shook my head and swallowed hard. "He has a daughter from a previous marriage, but she lives in Florida. I don't think he wants any more kids."

Dr. Greenwood wrote something on a pad of paper and ripped off the top sheet. "Here is a prescription for the morning after pill, Stephanie. You don't have to fill it. It's just an option. I think that you and your boyfriend need to sit down and have a long talk about how you both feel about the possibility of having a little one right now. If you decide to use the pill, get the prescription filled. If you decide not use it, shred the paper."

I took the paper and looked down at it.

"Now, Stephanie, is there anything else that I can do for you right now?"

I cleared my throat and looked up. I attempted a smile, but I think I only managed a weak grimace. "I don't think so."

She reached over and clasped my hands. "I have many resources at my disposal. If you need further counseling, bloodwork, contraceptives, prenatal care, or a safe place to stay, please give me a call." She handed me a business card with her name and contact information on it.

"Thank you."

We both stood up and walked to the door. Dr. Greenwood opened the door, and I found Robin waiting on the other side. "Your attorney is here, Stephanie. I'm going to take you to an interview room and give you a chance to talk to him before we talk about any formal charges that need to be made."

Robin led me down the hall and into the same small room I had been in earlier. Ranger was sitting at the table with a very handsome man dressed in a suit that probably cost more than my last car. I was guessing that he was my attorney.

Ranger stood up when I walked in. "Babe! You were gone for an hour and half! What's going on?" To anyone else, his face would look cool and composed, but I've been around Ranger long enough to know how to look for the little signs that pointed to his true mood. The lines around his eyes and mouth always gave him away when he was angry or stressed. Right now, I predicted that he was a little bit of both.

I walked over and gave him a hug. I knew that I needed to talk to him, but right now I just wanted a hug. I needed reassurance. I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed him tight. Ranger quickly wrapped me up in his arms and returned the hug.

Pulling back, he searched my face, looking for clues as to what was going on. He reached down to tug me over to the chair next to his and noticed the paper clutched in my hand. He quirked an eyebrow at me, and I handed him the prescription. He quickly read it and then raised his eyes to look at me.

_**TBC**_

_**Hmmm… How will Ranger feel about the prescription? Will he want her to get it filled or not?**_


	7. Chapter 7

Eep! Ducking to avoid the pitchforks, coffee mugs, sharp sticks, etc. that were hurled my way after I ended the last chapter where I did/how I did. I swear on all that is holy that I am a Babe. There may be a little angsty drama, but I promise an eventual Babe HEA!

Thanks for all of the reviews and private messages! They do motivate me to keep going and work on the next chapter more than you know! Hopefully this chapter will make up for the last one! ;)

**(Bold text from Chapter 6)**

**Ranger stood up when I walked in. "Babe! You were gone for an hour and a half! What's going on?" To anyone else, his face would look cool and composed, but I've been around Ranger long enough to know how to look for the little signs that pointed to his true mood. The lines around his eyes and mouth always gave him away when he was angry or stressed. Right now, I predicted that he was a little bit of both.**

**I walked over and gave him a hug. I knew that I needed to talk to him, but right now I just wanted a hug. I needed reassurance. I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed him tight. Ranger quickly wrapped me up in his arms and returned the hug. **

**Pulling back, he searched my face, looking for clues as to what was going on. He reached down to tug me over to the chair next to his and noticed the paper clutched in my hand. He quirked an eyebrow at me, and I handed him the prescription. He quickly read it and then raised his eyes to look at me.**

Chapter 7- Baby Talk

"Give us a minute, Tom." Ranger said without taking his eyes off of me. Tom quickly got up and left the room without making a sound.

I swallowed hard and looked down at the floor.

Ranger sat back down in his chair, pulling me down to straddle his lap. "Babe, what is this?" he asked, holding up the prescription.

I tried to answer him, but my voice wasn't cooperating. I cleared my throat and squeaked out, "a prescription for the morning after pill."

His tilted my chin up and looked into my eyes. "That's what I thought it was. Did you ask for this?"

I shook my head no.

"Then why do you have it?" he asked softly.

I blushed and started talking as fast as I could. I figured the quicker I said it, the sooner this whole embarrassing mess would be over! "When the doctor performed the rape kit, she noticed the presence of semen. The therapist asked how I felt about the possibility of being pregnant, and I told her that it wasn't intentional. That I had forgotten about protection, and that you probably thought I was on the pill. She gave me the prescription in case we wanted to get it filled."

Ranger cupped my face in his hands and looked into my eyes. "And _do_ you want to get it filled?"

I felt my eyes fill with tears, and I bit my lip. I knew that if I tried to talk, my voice would break and I would start sobbing. I shook my head no.

Ranger brushed a few stray tears off of my cheeks. "Why not?" he asked softly.

"I don't think I could do that." I answered in a raspy voice. "Do _you_ want to get it filled?"

Ranger shook his head. "No, Babe. I don't think I could do that either."

I rested my head on his shoulder and let out a deep breath that I didn't even know I was holding. "I'm so sorry, Ranger."

"For what?"

"Well, I know you don't want any more kids. You have Julie…"

"It's not that I don't _want_ more kids." Ranger blew out a frustrated sigh. "It's just that those kinds of relationships are difficult in my line of work. Do you remember me telling you that my life doesn't lend itself to relationships?"

I nodded. Boy did I _ever_ remember.

"Well, it's true. It's very difficult for me to _date_ or have any kind of long-term relationship. I don't want kids scattered all over the country, products of a one night stand. If I have any more, I want to be there for them. And look at the mess that Julie was put in because of me. It just makes the whole wife and kids picture a little more difficult, that's all."

"So you're saying that you _do_ want more kids?" I was in shock.

"I'm saying that I'd be open to the idea if and when the time comes. What about you, Babe? Do you want kids?"

I bit my lip. "I don't know. It's never really been something _I_ wanted. It's been something that _my mom and Joe_ have tried to force on me. Along with marriage and quitting my job."

"So do you think you resisted because you really didn't want it or just because you're stubborn and wanted to buck your mother and Joe?"

Damn! Did this man know me, or what? "What are you saying?" I asked in an irritated voice.

Ranger smirked. "Babe. Reverse psychology works like a charm on you! Haven't you noticed that yet? Whenever the guys want you to do something, they bet you that you can't or won't. Then you bust your ass to prove them wrong!"

I sat straight up. "Damn it! Is that why Ram bet me that I couldn't get 5 shots in the target's chest area last week when I was trying to avoid gun range practice? Or why Lester bet me that I couldn't lift the 50 pound weights without whining about it?"

Ranger kissed my cheek. "Bingo." He whispered.

I let out a frustrated sigh. Who knew I was so easy to manipulate? Evidently my mom and Joe had been going about things all wrong! What they should have done was _forbid_ me to have kids. Then I probably would have been poking holes in Joe's condoms and riding him like Zorro night and day!

"So back to my question," Ranger started, interrupting my deep thoughts. "Why don't you want to have kids?"

I thought about it. "Well, they're a lot of work. Some days I barely remember to feed Rex. Rex! Shoot! Where is he?"

Ranger laughed. "Lester has him in his apartment."

"See what I mean? I can't even keep track of a hamster! I would be a rotten mom!"

"Babe, you act like you wouldn't have any support. Your family and friends would be there. I'd be there. We would all help you."

"I know, but it's not just that." Ranger tilted his head and listened. "I don't want to be a Burg wife. I don't want to give up my whole life to be someone else's wife or mother. I still want to be _me_! I still want to work, to go out with friends. I don't want to be chained to the stove cooking and cleaning all day."

Ranger gave me a thoughtful look. "If you were pregnant right now, do you really think I'd lock you away on 7?"

I smiled. "No."

"And I already have Ella chained to the stove cooking and cleaning. So probably you could go out with friends while she slaves away all day." Ranger's eyes twinkled.

I punched him lightly on the arm. "Jerk!"

I leaned my head back down on Ranger's shoulder, and he started rubbing my back. "We'll deal with whatever comes, Babe. Weren't you paying attention this morning?"

I looked at him questioningly.

"You're mine, Babe. I meant that." He rested his hand on my belly. "I admit that the timing isn't great. We just finally worked things out between the two of us. But if you are pregnant, we'll figure it out."

"If I am pregnant, I don't want you to feel obligated to me, Ranger."

He stroked his thumb across my cheek and kissed me gently. "Stephanie Michelle Plum! Are you listening to a word I'm saying? I love you! I plan on being there for you all the time. And if we made a baby, then I'll be there for the baby, too. You're not getting rid of me, Babe, so quit worrying."

I really wanted to believe what he was saying. I really did. "But when Rachel got pregnant…"

"Babe, when Rachel got pregnant, I wasn't in love with her. I barely even knew what her name was when I married her. This wouldn't be the same situation at all."

"OK," I agreed weakly.

Ranger held up the prescription. "So are we agreed that we don't need this?"

I gave him a small smile and nodded. He folded it and stuck it in one of the pockets of his cargos.

"Try not to worry about it, Babe. We'll just wait and see what happens, OK?"

I nodded in agreement.

"Now. Would you like to explain to me how in the three hours since you left RangeMan you ended up getting a bruised cheek, being held in custody at TPD, and given a rape kit?" He arched an eyebrow at me.

"Is this the part where the attorney should come back in?" I questioned weakly.

Ranger nodded. He helped me off of his lap and walked over to the door. He opened it and motioned for Tom to come back into the room. Tom was about 6' 5" with dark wavy hair and piercing blue eyes. Even in a suit, you could tell that the guy was muscular and built like all of the rest of the Merry Men. I was sure that he was probably the best attorney that money could buy. Why? Because he worked for RangeMan, and Ranger only hired the best.

Ranger gestured for us all to take a seat. I moved to settle into the seat next to him, but he grabbed my waist and pulled me down onto his lap instead. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I need you close to me for just a little bit longer, Babe. You scared me half to death this morning when I couldn't get a hold of you. Then you called and said you were arrested." He wrapped his arms around me, and I held onto his arms. I turned and brushed my lips across his for a quick kiss.

He grinned and introduced me to my lawyer. "Stephanie, this is one of RangeMan's attorneys, Tom Anderson. Tom, this is my girlfriend, Stephanie Plum." Tom raised an eyebrow when Ranger introduced me as his girlfriend, but to his credit, he didn't say anything about it.

Tom reached across the table and shook my hand. "Very nice to meet you, Stephanie. I've heard quite a bit about you from some of the other guys. They think very highly of you."

I blushed. "Thank you, Tom."

"Now, why don't you tell me why we're here today."

I threaded my fingers through Ranger's, and he squeezed my hands in support. I explained about the events of the evening before, when Morelli had come over uninvited. Then I told them both about the traffic stop this morning. When I got to the part where Morelli had discovered that I might be pregnant, Tom's eyes almost bugged out of his head. Hmm. On second thought, I'm not sure that he could be a Merry Man after all. He would fail the blank face test for sure. Ranger moved our hands to rest protectively on my belly.

"Is that when Detective Morelli struck you, Stephanie?" Tom questioned.

"Um, no." I hesitated. I looked back at Ranger.

Ranger gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Go ahead, Babe. What happened next?"

"He punched the SUV. He dented the rear driver's side door."

Ranger rubbed his big hands over my belly. "It's just a car, Babe. I'm more worried about what happened to your cheek."

Tom looked up from scribbling notes on his legal pad. "Can you tell me how that happened, Stephanie?"

I nodded. "Joe was threatening to impound the car and take me in for questioning. He said that the SUV matched the description of a vehicle that was involved in a drive by shooting on Stark Street this morning at 3 am. I told him that I thought he was making it up, and I went to climb back in the car. I told him to mail me my ticket for running the red light."

Tom nodded encouragingly. "What happened when you tried to climb back in the car?"

"He stopped me and said that I couldn't leave. He said that it was too bad that I didn't have an alibi for 3 am this morning. I told him that I did have an alibi, that I was in bed."

"What was his reaction to that?" Tom asked.

"He said that it was too bad that no one could verify that." I looked at Ranger, who smirked. "When I told him that I wasn't alone, he smacked me."

Ranger's smirk turned to a scowl and he traced his finger lightly across my cheek. "He'll pay, Babe. I promise you."

I shook my head. "No, Ranger. You can't get involved in this! You'll end up arrested and sitting right here with me, both of us charged with assaulting an officer!"

Tom's head snapped up. "Did you assault him?"

I twisted my hands and started squirming in my seat. Unfortunately, my seat was Ranger's lap. I heard him draw in a quick breath, and his hands held my hips still. "Babe," he groaned. "Quit wiggling!"

I blushed and sat still. I looked up at Tom. "Well," I began weakly. "I didn't _actually_ assault him, but I _tried_."

Tom looked at me, a confused look on his face. "What do you mean you _tried_ to assault him?"

"When he slapped me, I pulled my stun gun out of my purse. But he had me handcuffed and in the back of his car before I had the chance to nail him with it."

I could feel Ranger's chest shaking from silent laughter. "Proud of you, Babe!" he whispered in my ear.

"Is that what he's charging you with, then?" Tom asked.

"Yes. That and the drive by shooting I supposedly committed at 3 am. And running a red light." I added.

Tom nodded. "OK. When I got here, Ranger said that they had a doctor examining you for signs of abuse? I'll have to get a copy of that documentation and go over it with you."

"I'd like to know why on Earth you were given a rape kit." Ranger stated. He gripped my shoulders and turned me to face him. "Did he _touch_ you? I swear to God, Babe, if he raped you, I will _kill_ him!"

"I'm not hearing this!" Tom muttered.

I stroked Ranger's cheek. "No, he didn't. He didn't touch me."

"Then why did they do a rape kit?" Ranger questioned.

At the time, I hadn't really questioned the rape kit. I was overwhelmed and just going on what the doctor was telling me. Looking back now, though, it was obvious that someone had told the doctors to treat me as an abused woman, not just a woman in a simple assault case. And I had a pretty good idea who that someone was.

I lifted my hands up to Ranger's face and caressed his cheeks. Then I let my hands slide back to tangle in his hair- one of my guilty pleasures. "I'll tell you why I _think_ they did the rape kit, but you have to stay calm. Agreed?"

Immediately Ranger's jaw tensed up, and his eyes narrowed.

I rubbed the wrinkle between his brow with one of my thumbs. "That's not calm." I whispered.

"Just tell me, Babe." He insisted.

"According to Eddie, Joe is telling everyone that all of the marks and bruises I have are from you." Ranger immediately tensed up, and I heard Tom suck in a huge breath of air.

I continued. "He told Eddie that he came over last night because the two of us were planning on talking about getting back together. Supposedly you, Tank, and Lester barged in while we were talking. You had Tank restrain him, and you took me back to Haywood against my will. He spent the whole night looking for me and finally found me driving around this morning. He saw the bruise on my cheek right away, and I told him that you hit me when you found out that Joe and I were getting back together. I attacked Joe because I am now afraid of all men since you have been abusing me, and I hold Joe responsible for not protecting me from you. He cuffed me and brought me in before I could accidentally hurt myself or him. He was planning on letting me go when I calmed down."

Tom spoke up then. "So he told the doctors and other police on staff that Ranger is abusing you, and you need help. They're treating you like a domestic abuse victim, checking for signs of physical and sexual assault."

I nodded. "I think so."

"Should I be concerned?" Ranger asked Tom.

Tom shook his head. "I doubt it. The bottom line is that Stephanie would have to press charges against you for anything to happen. I assume that you're not going to do that?" He looked at me with a grin.

"Absolutely not!" I agreed.

"It sounds to me like this Joe is trying to cause problems for one or both of you. He knows this will end up as public knowledge. He's probably hoping to damage your reputations. He knows that Stephanie won't press charges, but it's still likely that many will believe the stories. Also, it will shift the blame from him to you, Ranger." Tom explained.

I looked up at Ranger, worried. "I don't want people to think those awful things about you."

He shook his head. "People have thought worse of me than that, Babe. It'll all work out. Don't worry about it."

"I'll figure out a way to prove that you're innocent in all of this." I nuzzled his neck as I thought through my plan of attack.

"Were there any witnesses?" Tom asked.

"No." I shook my head. "And I think Joe's dashcam has been broken for like a year now. Unless it was just recently fixed."

I chewed on my lip, deep in thought. "Wait a minute! Don't all of the RangeMan SUVs have audio and video recorders?" I grinned triumphantly.

Ranger exchanged a glance with Tom. "Yeah, Babe, they do. But are you sure it's a good idea if we pull up the video?"

I just stared at him in stunned disbelief. "Why _wouldn't_ it be a good idea?"

"Well, sometimes, adrenaline can cause people to forget exactly how things happened. I just don't want to pull up the video and have it show that you tried to attack Morelli before he hit you."

I put my hands on my hips and said in my snottiest voice, "So you don't believe me? You don't think that what I told you is what really happened?"

Ranger blew out a deep breath and scrubbed his knuckles across his face. "Babe, I trust you 100%. I would trust you with my life. I _have_ trusted you with my life. With my _daughter's_ life even! It's just that with all of the emotions and adrenaline that come with an incident like this, it can be hard to keep track of exactly what happened. If we tell the police that we have a dashcam, they are going to want to see the footage, too. I just don't want to make their case for them."

My shoulders slumped. How sure was I that Joe had hit me before I pulled out my stun gun? I was positive. That's what happened, right?

Tom and Ranger watched me silently.

Finally Tom spoke up. "Ranger has a good point, Stephanie. If you are sure of the order of events, then the recordings are definitely something we want to pursue and enter into evidence. If you're starting to doubt yourself, don't bring them up. We may be able to review them by ourselves back at RangeMan first."

I bit my lip. "I'm sure."

Ranger pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number. He started speaking in rapid fire Spanish to whoever answered the phone. I think I caught about two words of the whole exchange.

He ended the call and dropped a kiss on the top of my head. "Hector and Hal are headed out to the impound lot. They're going to download the footage from the dashcam."

Just then my stomach let out a horrible growl. I looked at the clock. How could it already be 1:00? Where had the day gone?

"Hungry, Babe?" Ranger smirked.

I nodded, and Ranger made another call. "Santos! Grab some Pino's for me, Steph, and Tom and deliver it to TPD." Then he disconnected. If he weren't getting me lunch, I would be appalled at his horrible phone manners!

We sat back and chatted casually, waiting for Lester to deliver our lunch. Tom was in the middle of a hilarious story about a mission he, Ranger, Tank, Bobby, and Lester had been on when Ranger's phone rang.

"Yo!" he answered, absently rubbing my arm.

Suddenly he sat straight up in his chair, and I almost fell off of his lap and onto the floor. He barked "Double check all of the equipment. Let me know immediately when you access the recordings!"

Ranger ended the call and threw his phone down on the table.

"Problem?" I asked quietly.

"When Hector and Hal got to the impound lot, Morelli was already there with a team. Supposedly they were collecting evidence, but Hal noticed that some of the wiring for the dashcam had been tampered with. He thinks Morelli erased the footage from earlier today."

_**TBC**_

_**Ugh, MORELLI! Please read and review! **_


	8. Chapter 8

Special thanks to trhodes9 who is officially the Dashcam Info Goddess! Thanks also to jenio1 who has been great about helping me bounce around some story ideas and has even come up with some awesome plot twists and turns. It's very much appreciated, Babes! ;)

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**We sat back and chatted casually, waiting for Lester to deliver our lunch. Tom was in the middle of a hilarious story about a mission he, Ranger, Tank, Bobby, and Lester had been on when Ranger's phone rang.**

"**Yo!" he answered, absently rubbing my arm.**

**Suddenly he sat straight up in his chair, and I almost fell off of his lap and onto the floor. He barked "Double check all of the equipment. Let me know immediately when you access the recordings!"**

**Ranger ended the call and threw his phone down on the table.**

"**Problem?" I asked quietly.**

"**When Hector and Hal got to the impound lot, Morelli was already there with a team. Supposedly they were collecting evidence, but Hal noticed that some of the wiring for the dashcam had been tampered with. He thinks Morelli erased the footage from earlier today."**

Chapter 8 – If it Weren't for Bad Luck…

I gasped. "How did he even know the SUV _had_ a dashcam?" I asked incredulously.

Ranger blew out a frustrated breath. "I'm not sure, Babe, but it doesn't really surprise me. We do a lot of work with the TPD, and a few times we've had to use our camera footage as evidence. I'm sure some of the officers here are aware that our SUVs have cameras."

I shook my head. "But how could he erase it? Isn't the hard drive protected somehow?"

Ranger nodded. "It's in a welded box that requires a key to open it. Unfortunately, the SUV you took had been having problems with the recording devices. Hector had been taking it out all week playing with the settings, and he left the key on the keyring so that he didn't have to keep hunting it down."

I groaned. If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. Honestly, what were the odds of me taking the only SUV that had the key to its dashcam attached to the keyring? Gah!

"Are they sure he tampered with it?" I asked, stunned.

"No, Babe. They aren't sure of anything yet. They called as soon as they got there and saw Morelli. They hadn't had a chance to look closely at the equipment. Hal just noticed that some of the wires were out of place and looked like they had been moved. It could be nothing, or it could be intentional. We'll just have to wait and see."

Let's just say that patience is _not_ my middle name! I crossed my legs and jiggled the top one so much that Ranger grabbed my hips with an exasperated "Babe!"

I smiled guiltily at him and stopped jiggling. Instead I started tapping my fingers on the table. From the glare Ranger gave me, I guessed that was just as annoying. I glared back at him. "What?" I grouched. "If you want me to quit thinking about it, then help me keep my mind off of it!" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to take them back! When would I learn?

Ranger smirked and leaned me back across his lap. He tangled his hands in my hair and kissed me so thoroughly that I thought my curls might have caught fire! I could distantly hear Tom clearing his throat. Sensible Stephanie was mortified that I was making out with Ranger in front of my attorney. Stupid Stephanie straddled Ranger and moaned into his mouth as she ground against him.

Ranger pulled back and leaned his forehead against mine. "Still thinking about it, Babe?" he asked huskily.

"Mmm-hmm..." I moaned. I was _so _pulling the tiger's tail!

Ranger arched an eyebrow at me. "Really?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yep," I replied breathlessly. "Can't stop thinking about it."

He began nuzzling my neck. "Thinking about what?" he whispered.

"Ummmm…" My mind was swimming. What was I supposed to be thinking about?

I could feel his chest shaking with silent laughter as he nibbled on my ear. "What are you thinking about, Babe?" he growled.

"How many clothes we're wearing." I panted.

Ranger groaned and pressed me closer to him.

I was just about to suggest that Tom leave us alone for a few minutes, when Lester sauntered through the door. He smirked when he saw the two of us. "And how are the new parents?" he asked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "If you weren't holding a meatball sub, you would be dead, Mister!"

Lester gave me his wide eyed, angelic look. "Beautiful! How could you say such a thing to your favorite RangeMan?"

I stuck my tongue out at him and moved into the chair next to Ranger's, grabbing my sub in the process. I took a huge bite, letting out a long, appreciative moan.

Lester snickered. "I could make you moan like that!" he teased, wagging his eyebrows up and down.

Ranger growled at him. "Mine!" he barked. "Get your own woman, Santos!"

I just rolled my eyes at them.

"So what's the deal, Beautiful? Did you blow up the mayor's office or what?" Lester asked, unwrapping his own sub.

I glared at him. "Not quite." I mumbled around a big bite of meatball.

"So what _are_ you being charged with?"

I ticked my offenses off on my fingers as I listed them out loud. "Running a red light, assaulting a police officer, and a drive by shooting."

Lester's eyes got huge, and his mouth dropped open. A hunk of meatball fell out and landed on his lap, but I don't think he even noticed. He shook his head. "Damn, Beautiful! You sure know how to keep things interesting!"

I rolled my eyes and told Lester about Joe's traffic stop this morning.

"Too bad you didn't tag Morelli with your stun gun!" he snickered. "I would've paid to see that!"

"Well, if Morelli didn't erase the SUV's dashcam, I'll let you see what happened later, OK?" I offered.

Lester raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean _if Morelli didn't erase the SUV's dashcam_? When the hell would he have had access to our dashcam?"

"He impounded the SUV. Supposedly it's the one I drove when I shot up Stark Street at 3 am this morning. Ranger sent Hal and Hector over to download the footage off of the hard drive, and Morelli was there with a crew gathering evidence. Hal thought it looked like the wiring had been moved, possibly tampered with. We're waiting for a call back to see what they found."

Lester sat back, looking deep in thought. "There's gotta be a way we can nail his ass to the wall." He paused. "Where did he pull you over?"

"The intersection of Market and Elm. Why?"

Lester chewed while he thought. "Just wondering if any of our accounts were nearby. Maybe we can get some security footage from one of the nearby businesses."

I brightened. "Really? Do you think that's possible?"

Lester shrugged. "Anything's possible! The angle is what will be tricky. Were you guys on the sidewalk or in the street?"

"In the street."

"That may be too far for a lot of the cameras. Most are set to record the front of the building, including the sidewalk, but most don't stretch as far as the street."

The hope I had felt when Lester suggested the security cameras vanished when he started talking about technicalities like angles and which side of the car we had been on.

Lester finished his sub and pulled out his phone. He dialed and started barking orders to whoever answered. "I need all of our accounts near the intersection of Market and Elm sent to my phone ASAP. List whether or not they have exterior cameras and the range of those cameras." He ended the call and sat back, waiting for the information.

Ranger sat silently, munching on his salad. _Blech._ I didn't know how someone as manly as my Cuban Sex God could survive on leafy green stuff. In my opinion, lettuce is the food that food eats. In other words, I am a carnivore.

He caught me looking at him and raised an eyebrow. "Deep thoughts, Babe?"

I shrugged. "Just wondering how likely it is that we'll be able to find any evidence." Just then a thought hit me. What if we _didn't_ find any evidence? What would happen to me? Tom had said that Ranger would be fine as long as I didn't press charges against him, which of course I wouldn't. But would Joe press charges against me? And if he did, would I be out on bail? Or stuck in jail? My eyes widened at the thought of spending the night in jail. Or several days. Or months. Or years. I started hyperventilating.

I looked up at Ranger with panicked eyes as he jumped up and knelt down by my chair. He pushed my head down between my knees. "Deep breaths, Babe. Push up against my hand."

Lester leaned over and rubbed my back, crooning "It's OK, Beautiful. Come on, deep breaths. That's it. Relax." I got my breathing somewhat under control and sat back up, taking in a shaky breath.

Ranger and Lester exchanged a glance and looked back at me. "What brought that on, Babe?" Ranger asked softly, rubbing my knee.

I was so nervous that I started talking a mile a minute. The words came tumbling out of my mouth almost as soon as I thought them. "What will happen if we can't find any evidence? It'll be my word against Joe's. I'll say that I pulled out my stun gun in self defense after he slapped me. He'll say that I attacked him. I'll end up getting charged with assaulting an officer." I took a deep shaky breath. "Will I end up in jail?" I squeaked out.

Ranger looked over at Tom who hadn't said a word since Lester arrived with our lunch.

Tom shook his head. "First of all, it would be _attempted_ assault since you didn't actually stun Detective Morelli. Although still serious, that is a lesser charge. You have no prior record, so I imagine the judge would grant a low bond. Maybe $5,000 or $10,000? I'm assuming that Ranger would be willing to post that for you." He looked at Ranger questioningly.

Ranger nodded. "Of course."

I bit my lip. "What if I have to go to trial? What would my sentence be?"

Tom just smiled reassuringly. "By then I'm sure we'll have evidence to show that your actions were justified."

Lester rubbed circles on my back. "We'll get him, Beautiful. No worries."

A sharp knock sounded on the door before it opened to reveal Eddie and Carl. Eddie nodded at me. "Steph, we're here to talk about the charges Joe has filed against you."

I felt the color drain from my face as I nodded.

Tom spoke up. "And where _is_ Detective Morelli? Shouldn't he be here for this?"

Carl looked over at Tom. "He's working on a case right now. We're filling in for him."

Tom nodded. "Is my client being formally arrested and charged with anything?"

Eddie and Carl locked eyes. With a long sigh, Eddie finally stepped forward. He looked at me with pleading eyes, needing me to understand that he was only doing his job. I nodded, took a deep breath, and stood up. Eddie wrapped me up in a bear hug, whispering, "God, Steph, I'm so sorry."

I hugged him back, squeezing tight. "I know, Eddie."

I felt tears trickle down my cheeks and reached up to brush them away. "Stephanie Plum, you are under arrest for the attempted assault of a police officer. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?" I nodded.

Eddie wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I don't have to cuff you, do I?" he tried to tease. I shook my head no.

He turned towards Ranger and Tom. "I have to take her down to booking. Then I'll bring her right back. We should be able to get her in front of a judge today to set bail so that she doesn't have to spend any time in a cell."

"Thanks, Eddie." I whispered.

Ranger stood up and crossed the room. His eyes were full of emotion as he leaned down and kissed me urgently. "We'll be waiting right here, Babe. As soon as you're done in booking, Eddie will bring you right back to me." He looked up at Eddie. "Right, Eddie?"

Eddie nodded. "Absolutely." He pulled gently on my hand, and I followed him out the door and down the hall to be photographed and fingerprinted. As the door to the interview room shut, I heard a loud curse and a horrendous bang that sounded suspiciously like a hard plastic chair being thrown against a wall.

During the booking process, Eddie and I told Carl what had really happened with Joe, but I could tell that Carl didn't believe my version of the story as readily as Eddie had. I understood his dilemma. Two people that he considered friends were telling him two completely different stories. And neither story was especially pleasant. Either Joe was guilty of assaulting me, or Ranger was guilty of abusing me. In a situation like that, which version do you hope is true?

They gently walked me through the booking process and were ready to return me, as promised, to the interview room. Carl stopped me in the hallway and looked pleadingly at my face. "Steph, are you sure you want to go back in there with Ranger?"

I gently touched Carl's cheek. "Yes." I whispered softly.

He held my shoulders and stared into my eyes. "If you need anything…" he started.

I smiled gently at him. "Ranger loves me, Carl. He would never hurt me."

Carl looked like he wanted to believe me in the worst way. But he just couldn't. "He's so cold and quiet. Dark." He protested.

"Not with me." I said simply.

I opened the door to the interview room and saw Ranger sitting with his elbows on his knees, cradling his head. His hands were fisted in his hair. Carl took in his frustrated pose and looked back at me.

"Ranger?" I said quietly.

He looked up, saw me standing in the door, and relief flooded his face. He crossed the small room in a few steps and gathered me into his arms.

"I love you." I whispered softly.

"I love you, too, Babe." He whispered back, lifting me into his arms and walking us back over to sit down in his chair.

I glanced over at Carl, and he nodded at me. He was seeing a different side of Ranger. He was seeing Carlos, and I knew he believed me now.

Tom and Eddie were holding a quiet conversation about getting me in front of a judge before the end of the day so that I didn't have to spend the night in jail. I was hoping they could work it all out. It was already after 3:00.

Eddie stepped forward. "In Morelli's paperwork, he also listed that you were to be ticketed for running a red light and questioned in conjunction with a drive by shooting on Stark Street. I think we can take care of those two things pretty quickly and get you in front of a judge this afternoon. Sound good?" I nodded gratefully.

Eddie walked over to sit down. Carl pulled out a chair next to him. "Now as far as the drive by shooting goes…"

Before he could continue, Joe sauntered into the room. He took one look at me sitting on Ranger's lap, and his jaw tightened. "Cupcake, Manoso." He ground out.

He turned to Eddie. "Did you get her processed yet?"

Eddie nodded. "We were just going to talk quickly about the drive by shooting so that we could get her in front of the judge before 5:00."

Joe shrugged his shoulders. "The questioning comes first. If she misses the judge today, she can appear first thing tomorrow."

It's a good thing Ranger had his arms wrapped around my waist. That's probably the only thing that prevented me from flying across the room and upping my charge from _attempted_ assault to _actual_ assault. I growled at him. "You're a jerk, Joe! There is not a thing to tie me to that stupid drive by and you know it. I have no motive. Plus I have an alibi! Now let me get bonded out so I can go home! I am not spending the night in jail!"

Tom stood up and held out a hand to Joe. "Detective Morelli?" he questioned. When Joe nodded his head, he continued. "I'm Tom Anderson, Ms. Plum's attorney. I'd like to request that this questioning be put on hold until after Ms. Plum appears before the judge. After she is bonded out, I guarantee that she will return to the station voluntarily for further questioning."

Joe looked like he wanted to argue, but Eddie and Carl immediately agreed with Tom. There was no way that Joe could argue without looking like an ass. Well, he was an ass, but still. He didn't want everyone _else_ to think that, too.

A quick appearance in front of the judge and $5,000 later, I was officially bonded out. I almost collapsed with relief when the judge set the amount. I don't know why, but in the back of my head I half expected Joe to protest the bail and try to make me stay in jail overnight.

Unfortunately, instead of heading home, I was headed right back down to the same damn interview room that I had spent the entire day in! I felt like a caged animal. I was ready to climb the walls. Or throw something. Or both!

Lester had left to follow up on the text he got from Junior. Several Rangeman accounts in the Market/Elm area had exterior cameras. Lester wanted to personally look through the footage to see if the stop or any portion of it had been recorded.

Hal and Hector had called back while I was waiting to appear before the judge. They had finally been allowed to pay the impound fee and access the SUV. After waiting most of the day while the police crawled all over it, they decided to take it back to RangeMan and work on the dashcam there. We were still waiting for word on whether or not anything had been recorded. In my mind, that probably wasn't a good sign. It probably meant that Hector and Hal were doing their computer geek thing and trying to retrieve hidden files that were buried in the hard drive.

I felt useless, sitting here while everyone else ran around trying to prove Morelli's guilt. But instead of helping them, I was getting ready to be interviewed for an absolutely ridiculous charge!

Ranger had pulled some strings and arranged for the Chief and Eddie to sit in on the questioning with Morelli. I knew that he wanted the Chief there so that Morelli was forced to behave and follow procedure. Eddie was there because he was one of only two police in the entire station who believed Ranger's innocence.

The chief looked at me. "Let's get the easiest part out of the way first, shall we?"

I nodded.

"You admit to running the red light that Detective Morelli pulled you over for, correct?"

I nodded again.

He looked over to Joe. "Write her the ticket. That's taken care of."

Morelli pulled out a ticket book and filled one out, signing it with a huge flourish and smirking as he slid it across the table to me.

"Now, it's my understanding that Dr. Weston and Officer Russell finished documenting your injuries earlier?"

I nodded.

"In addition, Dr. Weston performed a rape kit?"

I blushed. "Yes." I agreed.

"Dr. Weston and Officer Russell have prepared the paperwork here for you to file charges of assault, abuse, and rape against your attacker. We just need you to name him and sign the paperwork."

"That won't be necessary." I said, glancing over at Tom.

Chief Doyle looked at me, unbelieving. "You don't wish to press charges against the person who did this to you?" he asked.

Joe muttered under his breath then, just loud enough for the Chief to hear. "Get Manoso out of the room, and she may file charges against him."

A muscle near Ranger's jaw jumped and he clenched his fist, but he didn't say a word.

Tom spoke up then. "I still haven't been given a copy of Stephanie's exam. I would like to see everything that was documented. I would also like a copy of the paperwork you have here. I will speak with my client at a later date about pressing charges. If she changes her mind, I'll be sure to let you know, but for now, she is not interested in filing anything."

Chief Doyle looked straight at me. "Is that correct, Ms. Plum?"

I looked him straight in the eye. "Yes." I said in a firm voice.

He shook his head. It was clear that he disagreed with my decision, but he was ready to move on. "Alright then. As far as the drive by shooting on Stark Street this morning, Detective Morelli mentioned that the car you were driving matched the description of the car seen leaving the scene. A pretty generic description was given for the car. Just that it was a black SUV, most likely an Explorer. Any number of cars would match that description. I highly doubt that you had anything to do with that, Ms. Plum, but by any chance do you happen to have an alibi for this morning at 3 am?"

I nodded and looked up at Ranger, blushing. "I was with Ranger last night and this morning. I was asleep at 3 am."

Joe addressed the chief. "Unfortunately, if Ranger was also asleep at 3 am, he will be unable to serve as Steph's alibi. He could have slept through her leaving and coming back." Joe gave a smug smile.

Ranger looked right at Joe and smirked. "She was in my bed at 3 am alright, but she was definitely not sleeping. In fact, we were both very much awake."

I gasped.

Joe's mouth was set in a tight line, and he glared at Ranger. "How do you know what time it was?" he bit out.

"Because at 3:30 I got a phone call about a break-in."

Joe looked like a raging bull. "And?"

_And he was still inside of me when the phone rang._

Ranger grinned at me and kissed my cheek. "Babe!" he growled.

Shit! I evidently said that out loud! Again! Chief Doyle was looking down and straightening some papers, trying to hide the grin that was threatening to spread across his face. Joe had snapped his pen in half at my accidental declaration and was trying, unsuccessfully, to reign his temper back in.

"You're willing to sign a statement to that effect?" the chief asked Ranger.

"I'd be glad to." Ranger smirked as Joe got up and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Chief Doyle nodded then and asked Eddie to take our statements. "Once they're signed, you're free to go." He told us, walking out the door.

Eddie quickly wrote down the information about Ranger's 3:30 break-in call and had us sign the statements. "I'm assuming that if there are any further questions about Steph's alibi for last night, you would be willing to release the name of your client and any other documentation that supports your statement."

Ranger nodded. "Whatever you need."

Eddie reached over and shook our hands as Ranger's phone started ringing. He looked at the readout and raised his eyebrow at me. "Report!" he barked out and put the phone on speaker.

"Uh, Boss." Hal stuttered. "I think you're going to want to see what we found on the dashcam."

_**TBC**_

_**Steph is finally free to go! She's spent the WHOLE DAY at the police station while the Burg grapevine has been going full tilt (thanks to Morelli). **_

_**Sooooooooooo…**_

_**What did they find on the dashcam?**_

_**And will Steph remember that she was supposed to try to make it to her parents' house for dinner? Hmmm…. That could make for an interesting meal! ;)**_

Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

I am having so much fun writing this story! I have some ideas for future chapters, just trying to work out how to get there from here! ;)

The reviews and private messages you guys write are so encouraging! Thanks so much! I also appreciate the ones that give me some factual info on what's going on- like trhodes9 with her wealth of dashcam knowledge. I know this is fiction, but if I have the facts about dashcams- they are welded shut, you need a key to open them, etc., then I can address that in the story and make it sound more realistic. So, in short (too late!), thank you, thank you, thank you! :)

And to Jen, thanks for the encouragement, Babe! You are awesome at coming up with plot twists and turns, and your line by line commenting cracks me up! I love seeing that I have a PM or e-mail from you! You rock! ;)

_**Previously…**_

**Eddie quickly wrote down the information about Ranger's 3:30 break-in call and had us sign the statements. "I'm assuming that if there are any further questions about Steph's alibi for last night, you would be willing to release the name of your client and any other documentation that supports your statement."**

**Ranger nodded. "Whatever you need."**

**Eddie reached over and shook our hands as Ranger's phone started ringing. He looked at the readout and raised his eyebrow at me. "Report!" he barked out and put the phone on speaker.**

"**Uh, Boss." Hal stuttered. "I think you're going to want to see what we found on the dashcam."**

"We're leaving now. Be there in 10." Ranger ended the call and turned to me. "Let's go, Babe."

I nodded. I was _so_ ready to blow this pop stand!

Tom shook Ranger's hand. "I'm going to wait here for the copies I asked for. I'll give you a call tomorrow and schedule an appointment to look everything over."

Ranger nodded. "Thanks, Tom."

Ranger placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me out the door. As we walked through the halls and towards the back exit, I couldn't help but notice the amount of cold stares we got. Well, Ranger got. I got mostly pitying glances. I wondered how inappropriate it would be to climb up on the docket lieutenant's desk and announce that _Joe_ was the one who did this to me? Or maybe turn a few cartwheels and hold up a sparkler while I tap danced and sang that Ranger was innocent? Hmmm…. Too bad I quit tap dancing when I was 6.

We walked through the doors and into the parking lot. I took a deep breath of toxic Jersey air. Ahhhh…. It felt good to be out of that damn station!

We climbed into the Turbo, and Ranger started it. "What do you want Ella to make you for dinner, Babe?"

"Anything Ella makes would be fine, but would you mind taking me back to my apartment first?" I asked.

Ranger frowned. "Why?"

"Well, my car is there. Plus I need to grab some clothes and things." A thought flew through my mind. _What if he doesn't want you to stay on 7? He asked you to stay last night, but now you're kind of inviting yourself._ "That is, if you want me to stay with you. Or you could just drop me off at my place now."

"Of course I want you to stay with me, Babe. Especially until all of this is settled with Morelli. You're not safe there. In fact, pack most of your clothes. The case may take a while."

When we got to my apartment, we saw Joe's Blazer parked in the lot next to the dumpster. It was empty, and the lights were on in my apartment.

Ranger gripped the steering wheel so hard I thought he was going to snap it off the steering column. "And this is why you'll be staying with me until further notice." He growled.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Excuse me?" OK, I _wanted_ to stay with him. But did he just _order_ me to stay with him?

He smirked. "Fine. Babe, I _forbid_ you to stay with me."

Jerk! I crossed my arms across my chest and pretended to be huffy. After all, I had an image to uphold!

Ranger looked at me. "How do you want to do this? Do you want me to just go in and get your stuff?"

I shook my head. "I don't think it's a good idea to leave you and Joe alone."

Ranger nodded. "Probably not, Babe. He might end up dead."

I chewed my lip. "What if we call Tank or Lester to come over? Just so that we have more witnesses in case something happens."

Ranger pulled out his phone and sent out a quick text. Ten minutes later, 2 SUVs came tearing into the parking lot. Tank, Bobby, and Lester climbed out of one. Cal, Junior, and Vince climbed out of the other.

"Geez!" I gasped. "We're just going to get some clothes, not invade the city!"

Ranger smirked. "I was a Boy Scout, Babe. Always prepared. And when it comes to you, there's no such thing as overplanning."

I wasn't sure whether I should be flattered or insulted by that remark. Hmm…. I was going to go with flattered just so I didn't have to waste more time being pissy.

Tank pulled out communication devices for everyone, passing around earpieces and throat mics. Junior and Vince put theirs on and stayed by the cars in the parking lot. Cal, Tank, Lester, and Bobby followed us into the lobby. Cal stayed in the lobby while the rest of us walked up the two flights to my apartment.

Tank unlocked the door and walked in first. Lester and Bobby followed him in while Ranger and I waited in the hall. I heard Morelli growl, "What the hell?" from the living room as they worked to clear the apartment.

Bobby came back to the door. "Morelli is in the living room with Lester and Tank. The rest of the apartment is clear. What do you want us to do?"

Ranger looked over at me.

"We might as well see what he wants." I sighed. I really didn't want to do this right now. I just wanted to pack up some clothes and go back to Haywood to relax. I was hoping that Ella was making something fattening for dinner. And dessert. Please, God! After the day I've had today, let there be dessert!

Ranger wrapped his arm around my waist, and we all walked into the living room.

Joe stood up and glared at all of the guys. "Cupcake, can I talk to you privately?"

I shook my head. "I don't think that's a good idea, Joe."

"We need to talk. This is between you and me. It has nothing to do with them." He started, reaching out towards me.

We were all wearing mics and earpieces, though of course Joe didn't know that. Even if they went in another room, they were going to hear everything he said. Whatever. If he wanted to think he was only talking to me, what difference did it make?

"Fine." I agreed. "They can wait in the kitchen. But you need to stay on _that_ side of the room."

Joe nodded. He pushed a chair against the outside wall and sat down.

I could tell the guys didn't want to leave me alone with Joe, but they all walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. Before Ranger left, he pulled me in for a hug and a searing kiss. I was breathless when he pulled back, smirked at Joe, and walked into the kitchen. I lifted my hand up and touched my lips. _Damn!_ OK, I know that was Ranger's version of peeing in a circle around me, you know, marking his territory, but still! That was _hot!_

I sat down on the couch and stared at Joe. This was his show. I waited for him to start, but he just sat running his fingers through his hair. "What did you want to talk about, Joe?"

He let out a deep breath. "Cupcake, I know I've been an ass." he started.

No arguments here.

"But for once, could you please consider my point of view?"

Excuse me? Is he trying to play the victim here? I just raised my eyebrows at him.

"I came over last night planning on pizza and sex with the woman I love. Instead, I find her dressed like a hooker, ready to go out with another man. The same man who frequently drags her into alleys to stick his tongue down her throat and feel her up. Even while we're dating."

I swallowed hard. OK, maybe that wasn't my finest hour.

"I knew she was in love with both of us, but I hadn't asked her to choose for years now. I figured that eventually she'd come to her senses and quit playing around with him, but she didn't. So finally I ask her to choose between me and him, and she picks him. The girl I've loved since we played choo choo in my father's garage when she was 6. The girl who gave me her virginity when she was 16. The girl I always thought would be my wife and the mother of my children picks someone else. Then the next morning I find out that not only is she sleeping with the other man, but she might be pregnant. I've been trying to get her to have my children for years now, and she won't. She says she doesn't want to have kids. But four months after we break up, she's pregnant by another man. Can you understand why I might be a little upset? Can you understand why I might be a little angry? My whole life, my whole world, my whole future was crashing down around me." He looked at me with a defeated expression on his face.

I sat up straighter. "Fine. Now consider _my_ point of view. I was 6 years old, and the neighbor boy invited me into his garage to play a new game. Instead of an actual _game_, he fingers me and then sends me home. When I tell my mom about it, I get smacked and grounded to my room for weeks. Too dumb to learn from that mistake, I let the same boy take my virginity on the filthy floor of a bakery after hours. As soon as he's done, he pulls up his pants and walks out. Instead of calling me, taking me out for dinner, going to the movies, he spends his last hours in New Jersey writing about me on bathroom walls all over town. That got me grounded for the entire summer." Joe at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

I continued. "Somehow, the stupid adult version of me can't stay away from this train wreck of a relationship either. Instead of running in the other direction, I end up in an on-off relationship with the guy. The same guy who tells me on a regular basis that I am an embarrassment and that I give him heartburn. The same guy who, instead of supporting my career, tells me that I'm terrible at it, a disappointment, and a failure. Evidently the only thing I'm good for is to spread my legs because all he wants from me is sex. He only calls when he's horny, and he hounds me constantly to have his kids. Despite the fact that I've told him repeatedly that I don't want to be a housewife and stay at home mom. This guy who loves me, wants to marry me, shows up at my apartment and tells me that I'm dressed like a hooker. He forces me to choose between being his girlfriend and someone else's whore. Because all women like to be called a whore. He grabs me and shakes me and tries to slap me. Then the next morning he pulls me over and actually does slap me. When I try to defend myself, he handcuffs me, throws me in a police car, and takes me downtown. He tries to drag out my questioning so that I have to spend the night in jail. He presses charges against me. When I finally get out of the station, he is sitting in my apartment and wants to know why I won't give us another shot." I looked at him incredulously. "Are you kidding me?"

Joe looked in my eyes, pleading. "I'm sorry, Steph. Give me another chance. Let me make it up to you."

"How can you ask me to do that after everything that's happened the past two days?" I snapped back at him.

He blew out a frustrated sigh and ran his fingers through his hair, agitated. "I never meant to hurt you! I love you! I'm begging you, Steph. Come back to me! I'll do whatever you want! You don't have to quit your job. We don't even have to get married right away. We'll wait as long as you want. Just, please give me another chance!"

I shook my head. "I can't do that, Joe."

"Why?" he asked anguished. "Is it because you think you're pregnant with Manoso's baby?" I heard gasps in my earpiece. "I don't care, Cupcake. You know I want kids. We'll work it out. Just promise me that the next one will be mine."

"That's not going to happen. I'm with Ranger now, Joe. You're the one who wanted me to choose so badly. I made my choice."

"Are you crazy? You know he's not going to stay with you! The guy is a fucking murderer for hire, for crying out loud! He's not going to settle down into any kind of committed relationship! Half the time he's not even in Trenton. Is that what you want?"

I looked down at my hands. "_He's_ what I want. However much he can give me. If he leaves, I'll go with him if I can. And if I can't, then I'll wait for him to come back."

"Jesus, Cupcake, be reasonable! You're going to raise a kid in the office of a fucking security company?"

I crossed my arms. "Where I decide to raise my children is none of your concern, Joe."

"He doesn't want you. You're just a conquest to him. Once he gets tired of you, he'll toss you out and move on."

I swallowed hard and shook my head _no._ "No, he won't!" I hated that my voice sounded shaky instead of firm.

"Come on!" Joe chided. "He probably has a woman at every RangeMan branch. Maybe he even calls them all Babe!" I felt like Joe had just slapped me across the face. I just stared at him, stunned.

He kept going, "What do you think a guy like that wants with a Burg girl? What makes you think he'll keep you? A guy like that needs variety, Cupcake! Especially in bed! And I hate to break it to you, but you're pretty restrictive when it comes to those activities."

I blushed. Oh. My. God! Was he saying that I didn't satisfy him? That I couldn't satisfy him or Ranger? And all of the guys were listening to this! "If I'm so terrible, then why on Earth would you want me back?" I asked in a strangled voice.

"Because you're mine. You've been mine since you were 16." He grinned at me seductively. "Well, really since you were 6, huh, Cupcake?"

I sat frozen in place, horrified. I couldn't believe that he was saying this stuff out loud! If I didn't kill him, Ranger surely would!

"I think we're done here." I said, standing up.

Joe rushed across the floor and wrapped his arms around me before I could say or do anything. He was pressing kisses across my face and murmuring, "Please, Cupcake. Give me another chance. I love you!"

I tried to get out of Joe's arms, but he was crushing me to him. "Joe! Let me go!" I gasped. That was all it took for four Army Rangers to come running out of the kitchen.

Ranger ran to grab Joe, but Tank held him back. "Let Lester and Bobby do it, man. You don't need any more headaches right now." I could tell that Ranger wasn't satisfied with that plan, but he let Tank restrain him without too much of a fight.

Lester and Bobby pulled Joe off of me, and he was looking at me, tormented. "I'll do anything, Cupcake! Please!"

"Drop the charges." I told him.

He just stared at me, stunned. "Cupcake!" he managed.

I held up a hand. "Don't, Joe. I don't have the energy to discuss this anymore. Obviously we're not what each other needs. I need to go grab some clothes. If you've ever truly loved me, ever truly cared about me, drop the charges. You do that, and maybe someday we can try being friends again. But it won't be now, and it won't be soon. Let yourself out." I walked into my bedroom and closed the door. I made it a few steps into the room and then I fell apart.

Ranger opened the door. "Babe," he said gently, kneeling down beside me. He gathered me into his arms. "You know that none of what he said is true."

I searched his face for answers. His eyes were dark and concerned, worried wrinkles forming on his brow.

"So you don't have a Miami Babe, a Boston Babe, and an Atlanta Babe, then?" I asked, trying to be lighthearted.

He cupped my face in his hands and grinned at me. "I can only handle one Babe in my life."

I buried my head in his shoulder and turned off our comm units. I didn't want the guys to hear the next part. "You'd tell me if I didn't… you know… satisfy you, right?" I asked softly.

Ranger stroked my hair. "You more than satisfy me, Babe. You're like a drug. I'm addicted to you. All I have to do is _think_ about you naked, and I'm hard as a rock. Whenever you're in the same room as me, all I want to do is drag you to the floor and rip off all of your clothes. You feel like heaven. Like you were made for me. If I could, I would stay in bed with you all day, every day."

I smiled against his neck. "Quite a speech, Batman." I teased.

He growled back at me. "Now let's grab some clothes so I can get you back in my bed!"

I wiped the tears off my cheeks and sat up, smiling. "You promised me a lunch date on 7, you know. I'm going to expect you to deliver on that!"

Ranger gave me a wolf grin. "Definitely, Babe!" He kissed my lips firmly, then pulled me up and helped me grab some clothes.

When I had two huge duffel bags full, we walked back out into the living room. I was glad to see that Joe had left.

Tank, Lester, and Bobby stood waiting for us. Tank spoke up. "Cal watched Morelli get in his Blazer, and Vince and Junior confirmed that he left the parking lot."

Ranger nodded.

Tank continued. "Hal called. He has the footage cued up and ready for you when you get back to RangeMan." Tank moved his head a fraction of an inch, and Ranger followed him into the kitchen.

I started to follow, but Bobby put a gentle hand on my arm. "You think you're pregnant, Bomber?" he asked.

I blushed and shrugged my shoulders. "If I am, it would be just barely."

He nodded in understanding. "If you need anything, you know to come and see me, right?"

I gave him a hug. "Thanks, Bobby. I won't know for sure for another couple of weeks, though."

He grinned. "I guess I should brush up on my OB skills. It's been a while since I did that rotation."

I punched his arm, and my stomach let out a horrendous growl.

Lester jumped in mock surprise, clutching his heart. "The beast has spoken!" he declared. "I can't wait to see how loud it growls if you really are eating for two!" he teased.

Hmmm…. That would be one advantage of being pregnant! Twice as much dessert!

Ranger had called ahead and asked Ella to have dinner ready in the conference room so that we could all eat while we watched the video.

She had really outdone herself. The table was piled high with salad, pasta, and garlic bread. She had also included a veggie tray, but I predicted that Ranger would be the only one munching on that. For dessert, there was a pineapple upside down cake, chocolate brownies with chocolate fudge icing, and a fruit tray. Yum!

Everyone piled their plates full of food and sat down facing the projector screen. Hal cued up the footage, and we watched as a blurry image appeared. The screen became snowy as the image came in and out of focus. Suddenly, a sharp image of a dark street filled the screen. The lighting and timestamp in the bottom corner showed that it was recorded in the early morning hours. We tried to make out the buildings or signs, but the quality wasn't great. It seemed like the car was making a loop up and down the same few streets. We had recognized that a few buildings appeared in the video more than once.

We had watched about 5 minutes of the video so far, and nothing had really happened. The car was just driving up and down mostly deserted streets. You could occasionally see a few people on the sidewalk next to the car, but there were no other cars on the street. The driver wasn't saying anything, and the angle was tilted so that you couldn't see the driver's face or profile.

Suddenly, a car came squealing out of an alley, swerving in front of the car we were "riding" in. Gunshots rang out, and you could hear people screaming. The cameras showed people scattering off of the sidewalks and into nearby buildings or alleys. "Our" car slammed on the brakes and backed in between two buildings covered with graffiti. It sat there for about a minute, watching as a black SUV came speeding down the street, spraying the buildings with another shower of bullets. More screaming and gunshots came from the sidewalks. The driver still didn't say anything. They didn't seem to be part of the shooting.

The car and the SUV vanished from view, and shortly after you could hear sirens in the distance. The footage became distorted and then went snowy altogether. We sat and watched the snow for about a minute. I looked at Hal, wondering why he didn't just turn it off. Wasn't this the end of whatever was recorded? Figures blurred in and out of focus, and I could tell that it was the recording of Joe pulling me over. His face would be sharp for a short while and then blur back out of focus. Our voices were muffled for most of the recording, but you could make out snatches of the conversation. I saw myself get ready to climb back in the car, and my stomach clenched. This was when Joe had slapped me. He walked over to my door, and I almost screamed as the footage became blurry. The picture got sharp again just as I lunged at him with my stun gun. We all watched as Joe handcuffed me and shoved me into the back of his car. The camera continued recording as Joe's car pulled away. Hal stood up and stopped the feed.

I just sat in shock. "What was the first part of the recording?" I asked, numb.

Ranger's mouth was in a thin line. "If I had to guess, Babe, I'd say that was the drive by shooting on Stark at 3 am."

"But why would it be on the SUVs dashcam?"

"I think someone was waiting for you to pull the footage to prove what happened with Morelli was self defense."

"But how did it get on there?"

"That's a good question, Babe." Ranger said looking over at Hector and Hal.

_**TBC**_

_**Well? What do you think? How did it get there? Review and let me know your thoughts/ideas, please! :)**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks everyone for the reviews and PMs! I have tried to respond to everyone. If you haven't gotten a reply from me, you may have messaging blocked. **

**Thanks to my awesome beta Jen! I love your input! :)**

Chapter 10 – Rules

Joe's POV

Bold section from the end of Chapter 5 (also Joe's POV)

**I hung up the phone with a deep sense of satisfaction. I knew that Steph would tell people that some of those bruises had come from me and that some had been from a night of rough sex with Ranger, but she underestimated me. The first rule of gossip was that people always believed what they heard first. It didn't matter if it was true or not. Now when people heard her say that the bruises were caused by me, they'd think she was trying to protect Ranger. After all, we'd dated on and off for 3 years, and she'd never had a bruise until now. Until she started hanging around Manoso more and more. If she tried to explain the bruises away as love bites or rough sex, people would assume that he was too rough, violent, in the bedroom and she was covering for him. You had to love human nature! **

**Now to go talk to some of the guys before Steph did. Eddie, Carl, Big Dog …**

I found Carl in the break room, munching on a doughnut, and chatting with Robin. Perfect.

I walked over and shook my head, sighing. "I don't know what to do about Stephanie."

I collapsed into a chair and held my head in my hands.

Carl spoke up first. I could hear the concern in his voice. "What's wrong with Steph?"

"Did you see her when I brought her in?"

"No, why? What happened?"

"I think Manoso's been smacking her around." I ran my fingers through my hair. "It's killing me to see her like this!"

Carl's eyes were wide and shocked. "What? Manoso is so protective of her! She's been his woman on the street for years now. Are you sure?"

I nodded. "I guess he found out that the two of us were getting back together. For good this time. No more on-off. He couldn't handle it."

Carl's eyebrows shot up. "You mean you guys are engaged?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I had just asked her, and she said yes. We were in the bedroom when Manoso and two of his goons broke in. Tank and Lester dragged me into the living room, and Ranger stayed in the bedroom with Steph. He said they had to talk, but I could hear her crying in there. Manoso carried her out, and she was still sobbing. I tried to go after her, but Tank held me back. He wouldn't let me go until the two of them had left."

Robin's eyes were huge, and her mouth hung open. "Where did he take her? What happened?"

"I don't really know. I looked for her all night, but I couldn't find her. I finally found her driving one of his SUVs this morning. She was driving like a bat out of hell, speeding and running red lights. She was in a hurry to get away from him, that's for sure."

Carl shook his head. "She must have been glad to see you! Was she OK? Did Manoso hurt her?"

I scrubbed my knuckles across my face. "He smacked her around. She's got a huge bruise on her face. And..." My voice broke, and I took a shuddering breath. "I think he raped her."

Carl slammed his fist down on the table. "What?" he roared.

Robin covered her mouth with her hands. "Poor, Steph!" she whispered.

"Has Steph pressed charges yet? Let's go get him!" Carl snarled.

I shook my head. "She's pretty upset. He's been abusing her for a while now. I think she's afraid of him, of what will happen if she admits what's going on. She's trying to make excuses for her bruises, but I know what they are. It's only a matter of time before the evidence shows what's been happening."

Robin nodded. "Do you want me to talk to her?"

I shook my head. "Not yet. Let her calm down. She was pretty worked up when I pulled her over."

Robin's forehead creased. "What do you mean worked up?"

I sighed. "She tried to stun me. I think she blames me for not protecting her last night. Or maybe she thinks I'm going to hurt her, too. Like Manoso. I don't know. She was wild. Lashing out, screaming, swinging. I finally had to cuff her so that she wouldn't accidentally hurt one of us."

Robin's eyes were brimming with unshed tears.

"I told her I was charging her with assaulting an officer and stuck her in a room to cool down. I'm hoping once she's settled down she'll be ready to file charges against Manoso. I just need to get the doctor in to document her bruises." I looked at Robin. "Maybe you could help her collect the evidence? Take the pictures or something? I know Steph trusts you, Robin."

Robin nodded. "Of course! Anything you need, just let me know."

I nodded. "Thanks guys! Do me a favor and don't mention this to anybody. I just needed to get it off my chest."

Carl and Robin nodded and mumbled reassurances. "Of course, sure, no problem."

I walked out of the room, hanging my head, dejected.

When I got back to my office, I let the smirk break out on my face. And that would be the second rule of gossip: The surest way to make sure that a rumor spread like wildfire was to tell someone something incredibly juicy and get them to promise not to repeat it. Why? Because they had the dirt, knew the secret. Everyone wants to be "in the know," to have something important to tell. I'd give it a couple hours, tops, before every cop in this station knew.

I settled back in my chair and propped my feet on my desk. I called the chief and told him about the suspected abuse. I reminded him of Stephanie's close relationship with Congressman Juniak, and he promised to get the doctors to come to the station and keep everything quiet. I knew that was the only way this would all work. It had to be done here, in house. All the cops here would already believe that Manoso was guilty. Anything they found, they would attribute to him. They wouldn't fudge their findings. No one here was a dirty cop. They would just be prejudiced in their findings, that's all. When they saw a bite mark or small bruise, they would assume abuse, not sex.

I was trying to figure out whether or not to call Steph's mom and tell her my version of the story when Carl came bursting into my office. He was practically jumping up and down like a little kid. "I've got it!" he yelled triumphantly.

"Got what?" I asked, irritated.

"I know how you can nail Manoso!"

He had my attention! I nodded for him to continue.

"The dashcam footage!" He looked supremely pleased with himself.

I rolled my eyes at him. "My dashcam has been broken for a year now, Carl. Every time it's up to be repaired they're missing a part or something else gets pushed to a higher priority. They figure the undercover cameras aren't as important since we usually don't do traffic stops." Actually, my dashcam had been repaired for months, but I'd conveniently forgotten to report that. Sometimes it was advantageous to know things that no one else knew. Plus then the Chief couldn't monitor my activities. I just turned it on and off whenever I wanted.

"Not yours, dumbass! I know _yours_ is broken. I meant Steph's! You said she was driving one of Ranger's SUVs right?"

Shit! Suddenly I knew where Carl was going with this. All of Ranger's SUVs have dashcams. We've used the footage as evidence before. Son of a bitch! How could I have forgotten that? I had to get over to the impound lot ASAP!

Carl had continued to ramble, but I tuned him out. He looked up at me expectantly when he finished. Time to throw the dog his bone. "Good idea, Carl! I'll have to see if I can get the footage. Of course, the chances of Manoso handing that over aren't good. Especially considering that it would prove him guilty. Don't say anything to anyone about the footage for now. Especially not Steph. We don't want Manoso to get wind of our plan. He'll erase the evidence."

Carl nodded happily. "Sure! I won't say anything. Glad I could help." He headed back down the hall, and I grabbed my coat and keys.

I raced over to the impound lot and flashed my badge at the cop in the cage. "I need the keys for the black SUV that was towed here this morning."

He fished around behind him and came up with the keyring. He flipped it over to me, and I nodded at him.

I beeped the SUV open and climbed in. I was getting ready to toss the keychain in the cupholder, when I spotted a key that was slightly smaller than the rest on the ring. No! It couldn't be! I held the key up. Yep, there it was. The logo of the most expensive brand of dashcam was stamped on the top of the key. I closed my eyes as a huge grin slid across my face. I couldn't believe my luck!

I snorted. Manoso was supposed to be a fucking security expert! Somebody needed to tell him that it wasn't very secure to leave the key to the dashcam on the car's keychain! But, hey, his stupid mistake was my gain!

I unlocked the box, slid the flashdrive out of my pocket, and transferred the contents of the hard drive onto the stick. I double checked to be sure that the car's hard drive was now blank. It was.

Taking the dashcam key off of the keychain, I relocked the car. I flipped the keys back to the officer and left the lot. I had several stops to make, and not a lot of time to make them.

First, I headed into my Uncle Sal's hardware shop. I wanted to get a copy of the dashcam key made. You never knew when something like that might come in handy. Supposedly you couldn't get a copy of these kinds of keys made, but I'm nothing if not resourceful. Sal was always willing to do a favor for family, and he had a few blanks that were close enough to work. While he cut the key, I opened my cell phone. I left myself a message in the notes that just listed the license plate of the SUV. Obviously, this key only worked on the dashcam of that SUV. I needed the plate so that I knew which camera I had access to.

Once my key was cut, I sat in the parking lot of the hardware shop and downloaded my own dashcam footage onto the flashdrive. I wiped my own hard drive and headed back to the station.

Locking the door to my office, I plugged the flashdrive in. I pulled up the footage from this morning first and fast forwarded to the part where I hit Steph. I completely blurred it out- the audio as well as the visual. Going back through the recording, I blurred out anything that showed her cheek. That way no one could tell when she had gotten the bruise. Doing that made the footage blur in and out of focus, but that worked out fine. The poor quality could be passed off as a malfunctioning dashcam.

Now for the best part. I smirked as I watched the footage from Stark Street this morning. I made sure that nothing from the video pointed back to me. No audio, no video. I also looked for clues in the video- there was nothing hanging from the rearview mirror that would give me away. Nothing on the dash. No clues that I was the one who had recorded the drive by.

I rearranged the footage and transferred it back over to the flashdrive. The drive by would show first, then the traffic stop. Now I just had to get it back on the SUV's hard drive.

I headed back over to the lot and got the keys again. I downloaded the footage and wiped everything for prints. I added the key back on the SUV's keyring. Done! Now I just had to wait for Ranger or Stephanie to request the footage as evidence. I smirked. It would be interesting to see how they tried to explain away the presence of the drive by footage.

I was locking up the car when a few other officers pulled in. Carl had asked them to process the car for evidence. Obviously he thought they would notice the dashcam and suggest the recording as evidence. As I watched them process the car, a black SUV pulled up. Two guys dressed completely in black climbed out. RangeMan goons, no doubt. I turned my back to them so that they wouldn't see my smirk. Too late, assholes!

I stuck my head inside the car. "The owners of this SUV are here to pick it up, boys."

They looked up at me, looking to see whether that meant they should speed up or slow down. "Take your time." I told them with a smirk and a wink. They smiled and nodded. They knew what that meant. Process every fucking hair, every piece of lint, every blade of grass.

The RangeMan morons walked over and stood next to the car, watching the guys work. I waved and smirked at them as I headed back to my car. Have a nice long wait, fuckers! I thought.

I pulled out my cell phone and called Carl.

"Hey, Carl! You know that great idea you had about the dashcam?"

"Yeah! What about it?"

"I drove over to the impound lot and checked out the car. It does have a dashcam. Good call." Nothing like stroking someone's ego to get them on your side!

Carl sounded like he was all puffed up with pride. "Yeah, I thought it would. Good, man! I'm glad we've got something to work with."

"Well, that's the thing, Carl. The dashcam is locked up just like ours. The only way to get the footage is for Manoso or one of his goons to open it. Right now, there are two RangeMan guys at the lot plus a few of our cops. I thought if we could get Steph to request the footage right away, our guys could have them unlock it. Or if Manoso calls them to get it, our guys can confiscate it once they unlock the box. What do you think?"

"Yeah, yeah! Good idea!"

"Listen, the fastest way to get them to request it is to make them think that they need to prove Steph is innocent of the attempted assault charge. They'll both be so panicked to get her off that they won't be thinking straight. They won't think about what the tape will show, just that it will help prove Steph's innocence."

"OK. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to formally charge Steph with the attempted assault and get her through booking. Do you think you can do that in the next half hour or so?"

Carl let out a deep breath. "Sure. Man I wish there was another way. I hate to have to arrest Steph!"

"Get Eddie to do it. She'll forgive him for it. She'll know that he's just doing his job."

"Alright, man. We'll get on it now. I sure hope this works. I hate to think of anyone hurting Steph."

"Me too, Carl. Me too." I disconnected.

I got back to the station, and I sauntered into the room they had Steph in. I felt my jaw tighten as I saw that she was sitting on Manoso's lap. "Cupcake, Manoso." I ground out.

I turned to Eddie. "Did you get her processed yet?"

Eddie nodded. "We were just going to talk quickly about the drive by shooting so that we could get her in front of the judge before 5:00."

I shrugged my shoulders. "The questioning comes first. If she misses the judge today, she can appear first thing tomorrow." In fact, part of me hoped she _did_ miss the judge today. If she was here overnight at least she wouldn't be in Manoso's bed.

Stephanie growled at me. "You're a jerk, Joe! There is not a thing to tie me to that stupid drive by and you know it. I have no motive. Plus I have an alibi! Now let me get bonded out so I can go home! I am not spending the night in jail!"

A tall well dressed guy stood up and held out his hand. "Detective Morelli?" he questioned.

I nodded. Who the hell was this guy?

"I'm Tom Anderson, Ms. Plum's attorney. I'd like to request that this questioning be put on hold until after Ms. Plum appears before the judge. After she is bonded out, I guarantee that she will return to the station voluntarily for further questioning."

That didn't really work into my plan, but Eddie and Carl immediately agreed with Steph's lawyer. What the fuck? These guys were supposed to be on my side! Now there was no way that I could argue without looking like an ass. Reluctantly, I agreed.

& & & & & &

If I could have figured out a way to prevent Stephanie from making bail, I would have. Unfortunately, there was no legitimate reason for the judge to deny it. She had absolutely no priors, she was well known in the community, and she had no extra cash to flee.

Instead, I just waited for her to get bonded out and come back downstairs for questioning.

I was pissed to find out that Manoso, the asshole, had pulled some strings and arranged for the Chief and Eddie to sit in on the questioning. I knew that he wanted the Chief there to make sure that I followed procedure. I assumed that Eddie was there because he was related to Steph. Too bad he had already heard the stories about Ranger, and I was pretty sure that he thought Manoso was guilty.

The chief took over and looked at Steph. "Let's get the easiest part out of the way first, shall we?"

She nodded.

"You admit to running the red light that Detective Morelli pulled you over for, correct?"

She nodded again.

He looked over to me. "Write her the ticket. That's taken care of."

I pulled out a ticket book and filled one out, signing it with a huge flourish and smirking as I slid it across the table to Steph. If nothing else, she had a ticket for running the light. Maybe I could offer to fix it for her. For a small fee of course.

"Now, it's my understanding that Dr. Weston and Officer Russell finished documenting your injuries earlier?"

She nodded.

"In addition, Dr. Weston performed a rape kit?"

She blushed. "Yes." I sat up a little straighter in my seat. I felt like screaming out loud. This was perfect! I had half expected Steph to refuse the rape kit. I can't believe she agreed to it! I hadn't heard that yet. I was going to have to call Dr. Weston and find out what showed up. If there was even a drop of Manoso's semen anywhere near her, I would figure out a way to use that!

The Chief continued. "Dr. Weston and Officer Russell have prepared the paperwork here for you to file charges of assault, abuse, and rape against your attacker. We just need you to name him and sign the paperwork."

"That won't be necessary." she said, glancing over at her lawyer.

Chief Doyle looked at her, unbelieving. "You don't wish to press charges against the person who did this to you?" he asked.

Of course she wasn't going to press charges against him. I muttered under my breath then, just loud enough for the Chief to hear. "Get Manoso out of the room, and she may file charges against him." I knew the Chief would accept that as the explanation for her behavior.

A muscle near Ranger's jaw jumped and he clenched his fist, but he didn't say a word.

Her lawyer spoke up then. "I still haven't been given a copy of Stephanie's exam. I would like to see everything that was documented. I would also like a copy of the paperwork you have here. I will speak with my client at a later date about pressing charges. If she changes her mind, I'll be sure to let you know, but for now, she is not interested in filing anything."

That reminded me that I needed to get a copy of the findings, too. Once I had a chance to look them over, I was sure that I would be able to twist them to suit my needs.

Chief Doyle looked at Stephanie. "Is that correct, Ms. Plum?"

She looked him straight in the eye. "Yes." she said in a firm voice.

He shook his head. It was clear that he disagreed with Steph's decision, but he was ready to move on. "Alright then. As far as the drive by shooting on Stark Street this morning, Detective Morelli mentioned that the car you were driving matched the description of the car seen leaving the scene. A pretty generic description was given for the car. Just that it was a black SUV, most likely an Explorer. Any number of cars would match that description. I highly doubt that you had anything to do with that, Ms. Plum, but by any chance do you happen to have an alibi for this morning at 3 am?"

She nodded and looked up at Ranger, blushing. "I was with Ranger last night and this morning. I was asleep at 3 am."

I turned and addressed the chief. "Unfortunately, if Ranger was also asleep at 3 am, he will be unable to serve as Steph's alibi. He could have slept through her leaving and coming back." I gave a smug smile.

Ranger looked right at me and smirked. "She was in my bed at 3 am alright, but she was definitely not sleeping. In fact, we were both very much awake."

Stephanie gasped.

My mouth was set in a tight line, and I glared at Manoso. "How do you know what time it was?" I bit out.

"Because at 3:30 I got a phone call about a break-in."

I could feel my anger building. "And?"

Then Stephanie muttered under her breath, "And he was still inside of me when the phone rang."

I knew that she hadn't meant to say that out loud. I knew that she thought she was just thinking it. I was pissed. I was holding my pen so tight that I accidentally snapped it in half. I was taking deep breaths and trying to get my temper back under control, but it wasn't working. I couldn't stand the thought of that asshole fucking _my_ Cupcake!

Ranger grinned at her and kissed her cheek. "Babe!" he growled.

"You're willing to sign a statement to that effect?" the chief asked Ranger.

"I'd be glad to." Ranger smirked as I got up and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

I walked into my office and punched the wall before slamming that door, too. Fucking Manoso! Thinks he can just steal Stephanie away from me! Ha! Stupid fucker doesn't know that she's _mine!_

I smirked. I wonder if she ever told Manoso that I was her first. And by that I mean her first _everything_. First guy to finger her, first guy to fuck her. He wouldn't want anything to do with her once he found out that she'd always been mine!

Plus, I knew how the Burg worked. There were two groups of girls in the Burg. The ones you fucked and the ones you married. It was absolutely frowned upon for a good girl from the Burg to have sex before she was at least engaged, preferably married. And if she did have sex before marriage, that guy had better plan on making an honest woman of her. Or else. I just needed to remind Stephanie, and her mother, that I had been her first. That we were meant to be together. That in the eyes of the church, we were already married. In the Biblical sense, of course.

I knew that Steph and Ranger would be leaving the station soon. Hopefully Manoso would drop Stephanie off at her apartment. But, hey, if he wanted to join the conversation, too, that was fine by me. I didn't have any problems letting him know just how long Stephanie had been mine.

I grabbed my jacket and keys. Time to head over to Steph's apartment and wait for her.

I stormed out of her apartment and down to my car. Well that conversation had clusterfuck written all over it! Where the hell did she get off trying to make me sound like the bad guy?

And when the hell had she grown a pair of balls and gotten up enough nerve to stand up to me and tell me that she wanted nothing to do with me? If I found strong-willed women sexy, I would be majorly turned on right now. Unfortunately for Steph, I preferred my women barefoot, pregnant, and submissive. The way they're meant to be. The entire rest of the Burg understood this. Why on Earth Steph was the only one who missed the memo was beyond me. But I was determined to change her mind. I wanted a woman whose first name was Mrs. and dress size was maternity, and damn it, Stephanie was going to be that woman!

She said that the only thing I could do to change her mind was to drop the charges. That was fine by me. I really had nothing to gain by pressing charges against her. It would make me look like an ass to have Stephanie go to court because of me. However, if I dropped the charges I would look like the forgiving, overly generous boyfriend that I am.

Plus, then Stephanie and Manoso wouldn't spend a lot of time looking for evidence to prove me guilty and her innocent. Not that she'd find it, but still.

I was a little disappointed that they hadn't pulled out the dashcam footage as evidence. That was a moot point now, though. The guys had already taken the vehicle back to RangeMan. Once they saw the footage on the hard drive, they'd erase it. There would be no way that they would release that to the police. So all of my careful planning this morning was for nothing.

I let out a deep sigh. Oh well. I fingered the new key on my key ring. Well, maybe not for _nothing._

Steph's POV

Bold section from the end of Chapter 9

**I just sat in shock. "What was the first part of the recording?" I asked, numb.**

**Ranger's mouth was in a thin line. "If I had to guess, Babe, I'd say that was the drive by shooting on Stark at 3 am."**

"**But why would it be on the SUVs dashcam?"**

"**I think someone was waiting for you to pull the footage to prove what happened with Morelli was self defense."**

"**But how did it get on there?"**

"**That's a good question, Babe." Ranger said looking over at Hector and Hal. **

I spoke up. "Do you think that Joe was able to add the footage on there somehow?"

Lester rolled his eyes. "You give Morelli too much credit, Beautiful! He's not good enough to access our cameras."

Tank spoke up. "He's a cop. Even if he's not a good one, he's been around long enough to know how to manipulate dashcam footage."

Ranger crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Lester. "You're forgetting one of the first rules of warfare, Santos. Never underestimate your enemy."

_**TBC**_

_**Any thoughts or ideas about what Ranger and Steph will do next? What about Joe?**_


	11. Chapter 11

Steph's POV

Bold section from Chapters 9 and 10

**I just sat in shock. "What was the first part of the recording?" I asked, numb.**

**Ranger's mouth was in a thin line. "If I had to guess, Babe, I'd say that was the drive by shooting on Stark at 3 am."**

"**But why would it be on the SUV's dashcam?"**

"**I think someone was waiting for you to pull the footage to prove what happened with Morelli was self defense."**

"**But how did it get on there?"**

"**That's a good question, Babe." Ranger said looking over at Hector and Hal. **

**I spoke up. "Do you think that Joe was able to add the footage on there somehow?"**

**Lester rolled his eyes. "You give Morelli too much credit, Beautiful! He's not good enough to access our cameras."**

**Tank spoke up. "He's a cop. Even if he's not a good one, he's been around long enough to know how to manipulate dashcam footage."**

**Ranger crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Lester. "You're forgetting one of the first rules of warfare, Santos. Never underestimate your enemy."**

I zoned out as the guys went into hyper planning mode. They were talking about all sorts of camera footage they wanted to pull up from around town, and Hal was explaining something about the file types on the dashcam footage and how they matched or didn't match the file types on the other RangeMan cams. The technical conversation was seriously way above my head. On top of the fact that I hadn't gotten much sleep last night – _thanks to Ranger – _and I had spent the whole day stressed out in the TPD, it shouldn't have been a big surprise that I was nodding off. About the third time that my chin drifted down to my chest, Ranger noticed and took pity on me.

He nodded to the guys. "We're offline for the rest of the night." I knew that was his way of telling them not to interrupt us unless they came across something incredibly important.

He picked me up out of my chair and carried me to the elevator.

"I can walk." I protested half heartedly.

Ranger dropped a kiss on my head. "I know, but I like holding you."

I gave a sleepy smile and rested my head on his shoulder. How could I argue with that?

We rode up to 7, and I was almost asleep by the time we walked into the apartment. I heard the familiar sound of Ranger's keys hitting the dish in the foyer, and we moved into the bedroom.

"I need a shower." I mumbled as Ranger laid me down on the bed.

"Do you want help?" he offered.

I shook my head and stood up, but I was still half asleep, and I felt the room tilting as I slowly slid to the floor.

Ranger shot out an arm and caught me. "Whoa, Babe!"

He looked me in the eyes, concerned. "You OK?" he questioned.

I nodded and turned to walk into the bathroom, but Ranger's hand on my arm stopped me. He reached down and rubbed my belly. "Let me help you. Just in case."

My heart started beating double time. I might be pregnant! If I had fallen, would that have hurt the baby? If I slipped in the shower what would happen? It was a disturbing wake up call. I might not be responsible for just me anymore.

I looked up at Ranger. His blank mask was gone, and I could see concern in his eyes. I bit my lip and nodded my acceptance.

He helped me into the bathroom and carefully stripped off my RangeMan uniform. He turned the water on and stripped himself. I sucked in a deep breath when I saw his gorgeous body standing before me. I mean, I was _tired_, not _blind!_

Ranger grinned at me wickedly as he helped me into the shower. "Problem, Babe?"

I blushed and shook my head. "Not at all!"

He guided me back towards the shower head, wetting my hair, and then began to massage my scalp, working the shampoo through my curls. God, that felt so good. I let out a low moan, and Ranger nipped my ear lobe.

He whispered huskily in my ear. "If you keep moaning like that, you're going to get very, very dirty instead of very, very clean."

I squeaked and made a conscious effort to control my noises. After all, Ranger and I really needed to have a discussion about birth control before we did _that_ again.

Once my hair was washed and rinsed, Ranger filled a loofah with Bulgari. He started at my shoulders and worked in slow circular motions down my body, washing every inch. Evidently, the tops of my thighs and the aching area between them was dirty, _very dirty_, because Ranger spent several long minutes on his knees washing and rewashing those areas.

Still on his knees, he pressed a kiss to my belly and whispered something in Spanish.

I tangled my fingers in his hair while he placed his cheek against my stomach. "What did you say?" I whispered.

He was silent for so long that I thought he wasn't going to tell me.

Finally he stood up and gathered me into his arms. He cleared his throat. "I said 'Are you in there, little one? I promise to be a better daddy this time.' "

I felt my throat tighten as I wrapped my arms around him. I couldn't have said anything even if I had wanted to.

After a few minutes, Ranger pulled back and sat me on the bench in the shower. He quickly washed his hair and body, then rinsed. Turning the water off, he reached down to pull me up. Ranger dried me off and sat me on the counter as he dried himself. When he finished, he left the room and came back in wearing his pair of silk boxers and holding a pair of my panties and one of his T-shirts. He helped me get them on and then picked me up, carrying me into the bedroom. The covers were already turned down, and he laid me on the bed, climbing in next to me. He pulled the covers up around us as I snuggled my back against his front. His arms settled around my middle, one of his hands absently rubbing my belly. I fell asleep thinking about a beautiful baby boy with Carlos's dark skin, eyes, and hair.

R&S R&S R&S R&S R&S

I was startled awake by Ranger, who was trying unsuccessfully to slide out of bed. We had fallen asleep in a spooning position, but sometime during the night I had rolled. I had ended up lying on Ranger's chest, completely sprawled on top of him. He was trying to gently ease me up so that he could get out from underneath me.

"S'matter?" I asked sleepily, and I heard a snicker front the foot of the bed.

I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I squinted. Lester? What was Lester doing in Ranger's bedroom?

Evidently Ranger was wondering the same thing.

"This had better be important, Santos." He growled.

Lester grinned. "We've got him!"

I brushed a few stray curls out of my face and looked at Lester, confused. "Got who?"

"Morelli. Cal _borrowed_ the security footage from the impound lot. Morelli is on it, plain as day. The angle is perfect. You can see that he's messing with the dashcam. You can almost see the flashdrive that he has to download the footage. Then he comes back later and reloads the footage we saw last night."

I sat straight up and clapped my hands together. "Then we can turn that over to TPD!"

Lester laughed. "Not hardly! The cops probably wouldn't take too kindly to knowing that we hacked into their footage at the lot. And if we request it, I guarantee that it wouldn't show anything. Morelli would wipe it out before we ever got a copy."

I scrunched up my forehead. "Then why is this good news? If we can't use it, what difference does it make?"

Ranger grabbed my hand. "Because now we know for sure how the footage got altered. We know that Joe is behind all of this."

I gasped. "The key! He found the key! You have to change out the box around the dashcam!"

Lester grinned. "Actually, Beautiful, Hector had a better idea."

I looked at Ranger. From his raised eyebrow, I could tell this was news to him as well.

"Hector thinks we should leave the lock the same, but we should add a second camera to the SUV. He wants to place this one in the dome light in the middle of the car. He can run the wiring to the cargo area of the SUV and put the box back there, hidden in with our other equipment. If Morelli thinks he got away with it this time, he may try again. The second camera would catch him tampering with the dashcam."

I raised my eyebrows. "So you want to use the SUV as bait and see if Joe tries to tamper with it again? Why?"

Lester grinned. "Because we want to see what else he'll put on the camera. We already have proof that he witnessed the drive by on Stark. We want to see what else he'll put on the camera. We've suspected for a while that he's involved in some shady activities. If he puts proof of any of that on the dashcam, we've got him. We'll have the second camera to show that he put it there, and we'll have the footage to show what he's involved in."

Joe wasn't involved in anything illegal, was he? There had to be a perfectly logical explanation for him being on Stark Street yesterday morning, right? I looked between Lester and Ranger. "What do you mean you think he's involved in illegal activities? How long have you thought that? And why didn't anyone tell me?"

Ranger rubbed my shoulder. "Some things with Morelli haven't added up for a while, Babe. We didn't know for sure what was going on. That's why we haven't said anything. But this may give us a chance to confirm some suspicions that we've had."

I just nodded. I knew that was all the more they were going to tell me right now.

I looked over at Lester. "Did you have any luck with the business cams around Market and Elm?"

He shook his head. "Not yet, Beautiful, but I'm only about halfway through the footage."

I bit my lip and nodded. I really wanted proof that the traffic stop had gone the way I said it had.

Ranger looked at Lester. "Tell Hector to go ahead with the second camera set-up. That seems like a good idea for now." He turned to me. "Until further notice, that's the vehicle you'll need to drive, Babe. Morelli will think it's your company car, and he'll think he has unlimited access to the recordings."

I nodded my agreement. That was probably a good idea. If Joe saw the other guys driving the car he'd probably be less likely to mess with it. He would assume that I wasn't observant enough to notice if he'd messed with things. OK, if I wanted to be honest, I probably _wouldn't _have noticed. Except now I knew to look.

Ranger looked back at Lester. "Is that all?"

Lester grinned. "Well, the morning meeting is in 10 minutes. Usually I hear from you before now, so I wanted to make sure you were up."

Ranger's eyes widened just a fraction. That was his version of standing frozen in place eyes bugged out and mouth dropped open in shock. He grabbed his phone off the table while I looked at the clock on his nightstand. Sure enough, it was ten minutes to 8:00.

Ranger launched himself out of bed and ran for the shower. He was in and out in under five minutes. Then he ran into the dressing area. He came out in his cargo pants and T-shirt minutes later, still strapping weapons on. He dropped a quick kiss on my head and then he and Lester strode out the door and down to the meeting.

Clearly, I was not going to make the meeting on time two days in a row. Oh well.

I got up and took a much longer shower than Ranger, got dressed, and had some cereal before I rode down to 5 an hour later than the guys.

The morning meeting was just breaking up as I wandered onto the floor.

Manny did a double take when he saw my cheek. "What happened, Wifey?" he asked.

I grinned. After Manny was shot by Scrog, I had pretended to be his wife so that the nurses would let me into the back to see him. That was still the nickname he used with me, much like Lester's Beautiful or Ranger's Babe.

He reached up and touched my cheek lightly, waiting for me to answer.

"Morelli pulled me over yesterday. He was a little upset when he found out that I had stayed with Ranger the night before."

Manny's eyes narrowed and his lips stretched into a thin line. "Want me to take care of him?"

I shook my head. "No, we've got a plan in place already."

Manny nodded once. "Yeah, we heard about it at the meeting. But, still. I'd be glad to remind him to keep his hands to himself if you want me to."

I grinned. "Thanks, Manny."

He clapped his hand on my shoulder as he walked away. "Anytime."

I peeked in the conference room and saw the core team- Ranger, Tank, Bobby, and Lester- still sitting at the table. "Knock, knock!" I called out.

"Come on in, Babe." Ranger responded without looking up.

I walked in and waited while they finished up with the contracts they were looking at. Ranger pushed his chair back and patted his lap. I walked over and sat down, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. "Tom called. He wants to meet with us this morning to go over the evidence he got yesterday from TPD."

I nodded. "What time?"

Ranger looked down and checked his watch. "Anytime now."

As if on cue, the phone in the middle of the table buzzed. Ranger hit the intercom button and answered. "Yo!"

Cal's voice came through the speaker. "Tom Anderson is here to meet with you and Ms. Plum, sir."

"Send him up." Ranger answered.

A few minutes later, Tom walked through the door. Tank excused himself to start on some paperwork, but Bobby and Lester stayed.

Bobby explained that he wanted to see the official medical reports from the station, and Tom handed them over. Bobby started thumbing through them almost immediately and left to make copies of them.

Lester reached out and shook Tom's hand. "When you're finished here, I just wanted to talk to you about the legalities of some recording we're doing." I was pretty sure he was talking about the SUV, but with this group, who knew?

Tom nodded. "This shouldn't take long. If Ranger and Stephanie don't mind, you can wait."

Ranger nodded and Lester sat back down.

Tom looked over at me. "Now, Stephanie, you said that some of these marks came from Detective Morelli and some came from Ranger." He slid a stack of pictures across the table to me. "Look through these pictures and see if you can separate them into two piles."

I sat back against Ranger's chest, and we looked through the pictures together. There were several of my shoulders and cheek. I put those in a pile on the table and told Tom that they were the ones from Joe. I felt Ranger tense behind me as he noticed that all the rest of the pictures – over a dozen – were _not_ caused by Joe. These were pictures of my back, my neck, my hips, and the love bites left on various other parts of my body.

His hands rubbed up and down my arms and legs, finally settling on my belly. "I'm so sorry, Babe." He whispered.

I turned to look at him. "For what?"

Ranger's face looked anguished. "If I were given these pictures, I would assume that the person responsible was an abusive SOB. Add in the ones from Morelli, and I'd be ready to kill the guy."

I touched his cheek tenderly. "These marks weren't left in anger, Ranger. No matter what Joe or anyone else says, they can't change that. And I would never say otherwise."

He shook his head and kissed my cheek, pulling out the picture of my hips. "I don't even remember holding you tight enough to do this." He whispered.

"Me either." I admitted. "When they said the handprints were there, I had to look down to verify it myself."

He rubbed the back of my neck. "I need to be more gentle with you." He whispered hoarsely.

"Don't even think about it." I whispered back. "Sometimes I like it when you're rough."

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. I knew that I was going to have a hard time convincing Ranger to let go in the future.

Lester had flipped through the evidence photos of my shoulders and cheek, and he could see the anguish the other pictures were causing us. In an attempt to lighten the mood, he whipped out his phone and passed it across to Tom.

"Well if Ranger is going to be accused of abuse, then I think you should countersue." He told Tom.

Tom gave him a questioning look.

Lester grinned. "Well, Steph wasn't the only one with marks after last night."

Tom looked down at the picture on Lester's phone and choked back a laugh. He looked up at Ranger and me, and my cheeks flamed.

"Actually," Tom began thoughtfully. "It might not be a bad idea to document the marks on your back."

Ranger quirked an eyebrow at him.

"It would further prove your defense that it was, uh… consensual." Tom stammered.

I looked down at the floor. Oh. My. God! Were we seriously going to document our sex life as evidence?

Ranger shrugged and stood me up. He whipped his shirt off and turned around with his back facing Tom.

Tom let out a low whistle. "Yep, those nail marks ought to prove it was consensual." He choked out.

Lester grinned and ran to grab an evidence camera. He came back in and took a few pictures of Ranger's back.

When he started barking out commands like, "Now give me a sexy pout. That's it! Make love to the camera," Ranger glared, snapped him with his shirt, and pulled it back over his head.

"Santos, mats tomorrow, 0500!" Ranger barked.

Lester was completely unfazed. Probably because he was called to the mats _so often_!

He stuck his head out the conference room door. "Binkie!" he hollered. "Bring us in the digital photo printer."

Seconds later, Binkie walked in and hooked up the printer. He nodded at everyone in the room and walked back out without saying a word.

Lester printed out the photos, and added them to Tom's folder. Tom slid across typed statements and had us sign them. They were just formal versions of what we had told him the day before- where the marks came from and what had happened during the traffic stop with Joe.

Tom had agreed that the filming should be legal since Joe was clearly aware that the SUVs contained recording devices. He was just packing up his things and getting ready to leave when his cell phone rang. He answered it and gave us an incredulous look as he listened to the caller.

We all stood, anxiously waiting as he hung up the phone.

He ended the call, shaking his head, and turned to face us. "That was the TPD," he started.

_**TBC**_

_**So what does the TPD want? Is it good news? Bad news?**_


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks to everyone who is reading. I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I appreciate the PMs and reviews. They help to encourage me to keep going and give me great ideas!

_Fair warning, I am changing the description to include ANGST! Also, this story is rated M for language and smut. This chapter is pretty sexually explicit. If that offends you, do not read!_

Thanks to Jen, my incredibly devious beta who has the _most amazing_ ideas for plot twists and turns!

_Bold section from Chapter 11_

**Lester printed out the photos, and added them to Tom's folder. Tom slid across typed statements and had us sign them. They were just formal versions of what we had told him the day before- where the marks came from and what had happened during the traffic stop with Joe.**

**Tom had agreed that the filming should be legal since Joe was clearly aware that the SUVs contained recording devices. He was just packing up his things and getting ready to leave when his cell phone rang. He answered it and gave us an incredulous look as he listened to the caller. **

**We all stood, anxiously waiting as he hung up the phone.**

**He ended the call, shaking his head, and turned to face us. "That was the TPD," he started.**

Chapter 12

I sucked in a deep breath and clung to Ranger's hand. _Please don't let them be charging Ranger with something. Please don't let them be charging Ranger with something._

"Detective Morelli has dropped all charges." He finished.

I could feel my eyebrows draw together in confusion. "I don't understand. Why would he do that?"

Ranger's face looked tense. "Because you asked him to."

My eyes widened. "But I didn't really think he'd do it!" I shook my head. "Why even take me in if he was just going to drop the charges?"

Ranger stood still, his mouth set in a grim line. "I don't know, Babe, but we'll figure it out."

Lester spoke up. "Well, he doesn't know that we figured out what he did with the dashcam. He's probably trying to make you feel like everything's back to normal. Like you can trust him again."

I shuddered, and Ranger looked down at me. "You know you can't trust him, right?" he asked.

I bit my lip but nodded. I wished that things _were_ back to normal. I wished that I _could_ trust Joe, but I knew that I couldn't. His actions in the past few days had proven that.

I looked up at Tom. "So what do we do now?"

Tom shrugged. "Well, for now, we just sit tight. I'll keep records of all of the evidence that we have here, including your statements and the photographs. If Detective Morelli decides to reopen the charges at a later date, we have everything we need. Hopefully, though, this will be the end of it."

I nodded. I hoped so, too.

Tom shook hands all around and headed out of the conference room.

Ranger came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. "You OK, Babe?" he murmured.

I sighed. "Yeah. I just wish I knew what Joe was thinking." 

R&S R&S R&S R&S R&S

Joe's POV

I had Big Dog put in the call to Steph's lawyer. I knew that Manoso and his band of thugs would be stumped by my move. They'd be looking for an ulterior motive behind it. But they wouldn't find one. Yet. Hopefully Steph would take it as proof of my love for her, and she would be willing to give me another chance.

Right now I needed to get a look at the evidence they had collected from Steph. Especially the photos and the rape kit. I knew those two things would help me to figure out what to do next more than anything else.

If I asked to see them, it may arouse suspicion. My best bet was to just take the evidence without anyone knowing.

For right now, the evidence was in Robin's office. She had been helping to sort and tag the pictures as well as document the rape kit. Because Stephanie had refused to press charges, the evidence would be boxed up and stored away. That was when I would collect it and reopen my own personal "investigation."

I didn't have to wait long. Just a few hours later, Robin tagged a box with the date and Stephanie's name. She put everything inside and logged the list of contents into our computer database. I waited until she put the box in the evidence locker and left.

It killed me to wait 15 minutes, but I didn't want it to look too suspicious if I walked in right after Robin left. I nodded to the cop who was monitoring the entrance to the evidence room and walked back. I opened Steph's box and pulled out the contents. I added them to a box containing evidence from a gang shoot out. That was my investigation, and it wouldn't raise any eyebrows if I were going through that box.

I stopped on the way out and filled in the form on the clipboard. I held back a smirk as I showed the guard the tag on the evidence box. He matched it up with what I had written on the sheet and waved me off.

When I got back to my office, I closed the door and locked it before I spread out Stephanie's evidence across my desk.

The pictures on top didn't show much. They were the closeups of her cheek and shoulders- the bruises that I had caused. I kept sifting down through the pictures. Why were there so many? The stack was several dozen thick!

I flipped to the middle of the pile and found myself looking at Stephanie's breast. It was milky white and firm, just the perfect size for my hand. Or my mouth. I felt my pants tighten as I looked at it. Then I saw the reason why they had taken a picture of it. There was a bright red bruise on the swell of her breast and another at the top near her nipple.

I dropped the pictures as if they were on fire and stared at them with hatred in my eyes. "Fucking Manoso!" I growled. He had had his mouth on _my_ woman's breast! I wanted to punch something, wanted to turn my desk over. I felt like the Incredible Hulk. I could feel the anger building in me, just waiting for a chance to explode.

I forced myself to walk away from the pictures. I braced my arms against the wall and leaned my forehead onto the cool plaster. Deep breaths, man, deep breaths. I had figured that they had had sex before, and I was almost certain that she had let him fuck her last night. But still. Thinking it was one thing. Looking at the hickeys Manoso had left on her breasts was another. My heart rate slowed, and I walked back over to my desk.

I flipped down a few more pictures and let out a roar. This time I couldn't stop myself, and I flew into a rage. Before I knew what I was doing, my desk was tipped over, my chair was thrown against the wall, and I shattered a picture by throwing it against the door. The rage inducing photo laid in the middle of the mess- the tops of her thighs and her bare pussy covered in love bites.

R&S R&S R&S R&S R&S

I sank back into the worn cushions of my couch and tipped back the bottle. Finishing the last swallow, I tossed the bottle to the floor where it clinked and joined a half dozen other empties. I let out a groan and wiped my hand across my face.

This had been one hell of a day! I had completely fucking destroyed my office. There was no way I could repair all of the damage I had caused. I had done my best to put it back into some semblance of order and then made copies of the evidence from Steph's case. I slid everything back into the evidence room and headed for home, picking up four six packs on the way.

Looking at them now, I slid the pictures around on my coffee table. These were my copies. Mine to keep. Mine to look at. The alcohol must have dulled some of the anger from before because I could now look at the pictures almost objectively. As if they were of a stranger instead of my Cupcake.

I picked up the picture of her hip. A faint handprint could be seen against her light skin. I popped open another bottle and saluted the picture. _You must have been holdin' on and bangin' her pretty hard to leave a print like that, Manoso._ I rearranged the pictures on my coffee table until I had almost reconstructed Stephanie's whole torso from her neck to her thighs.

When I saw the pictures laid out on the table like that, I let out a low moan. It almost looked like Stephanie was laid out on my coffee table, exposing herself to me. I stood up and tipped the bottle back with one hand while my other hand unfastened my jeans. I slid them down my legs and reached inside my boxers, freeing the boys. I looked at Stephanie's perky breasts, with her taut pink nipples. I stroked myself and looked at the marks covering her chest. _Do you like that, Cupcake? Do you like it when I suck on your tits?_

I rolled her nipple between my teeth, teasing it with my tongue and then biting down just enough to make her moan and tangle her hands in my hair. _Fuck, that felt good!_

There was a barely visible bite mark, just a shadow of one, by her nipple from where I had gotten a little too excited. I grabbed her hip tightly, squeezing her hard as I poised my cock at her entrance. I grabbed her hip and thrust as hard and fast as I could, making her gasp and scream out my name. _That's it, Cupcake!_

I bit her neck, licking and sucking, leaving mark after mark. _Do you like it rough, Cupcake? Do you like to be my little whore?_

I slammed into her over and over, making her cum for me before I exploded myself. _Yeah, that's it. Let me cum in your pussy. That's a good girl._

I grunted and thrust again, coating the pictures with my cum.

I collapsed onto the couch and passed out, my dick still in my hand

R&S R&S R&S R&S R&S

I groaned as I fought to open my eyes. I felt like I had been hit by a bus! My head was pounding. I looked down at my body. My pants were around my ankles, and my crotch was sticky. Both of my hands were swollen and bloody. The floor was littered in empty beer bottles. What the fuck?

I looked over at the coffee table and saw Stephanie's naked body laid out in mosaic form- pieces of her naked body fitted together like a puzzle. _Fuck. _I closed my eyes again.

I struggled to my feet and looked down at the pictures. Splotches of cum covered them. I looked down at Stephanie's pussy and smiled as I saw a particularly large puddle right next to her bare lips. She looked good covered in my juices. Too bad she never let me cum on her like this in real life. She always insisted that I wear a condom, even when I _knew_ she was on the pill. There was only one time I had been in her bare. The Tasty Pastry. She had felt like heaven. So hot, so wet, so tight.

I stroked myself and grunted, remembering the feel of her. What I wouldn't give to cum in her pussy one more time!

At least I knew I was the only guy who had ever been inside her bare. The only guy who had ever spilled his seed in her. She and Dickie had barely been married a few months, and she had made him wear a condom until they could discuss other options.

I froze mid-stroke. She had said she might be pregnant. There was no way that she had let Manoso in her bare, had she? She had to be wrong. _The rape kit._

I knew he'd fucked her. There was no way he'd left all of those marks all over her body without fucking her. I was willing to forgive her for making a mistake one time. For letting Manoso take advantage of her when she was confused after our fight. But he'd better have used protection. She'd better not have let him put his dick in her without a condom!

I grabbed the file folder and started flipping through the pages. There it was. The presence of semen detected. _Fuck! _I threw the pages across the room.

I looked at Stephanie's naked body, spread out before me like a slut on my coffee table. My hand automatically grabbed my dick. Was that what she wanted? _Stroke. _To be treated like a slut? _Stroke. _Did she want someone to mark her body and fuck her hard? _Stroke. _ Did she want someone to pound her and cum in her pussy? _Stroke._ If she did, I would be glad to make that happen. _Stroke._

I grunted and let go, adding another layer of cum over Cupcake's bruised mound.

_**TBC**_


	13. Chapter 13

Bold section from Chapter 12

**Tom ended the call, shaking his head, and turned to face us. "That was the TPD," he started.**

**I sucked in a deep breath and clung to Ranger's hand. _Please don't let them be charging Ranger with something. Please don't let them be charging Ranger with something._**

"**Detective Morelli has dropped all charges." He finished. **

**I could feel my eyebrows draw together in confusion. "I don't understand. Why would he do that?"**

**Ranger's face looked tense. "Because you asked him to."**

**My eyes widened. "But I didn't really think he'd do it!" I shook my head. "Why even take me in if he was just going to drop the charges?"**

**Ranger stood still, his mouth set in a grim line. "I don't know, Babe, but we'll figure it out."**

**I looked up at Tom. "So what do we do now?"**

**Tom shrugged. "Well, for now, we just sit tight. I'll keep records of all of the evidence that we have here, including your statements and the photographs. If Detective Morelli decides to reopen the charges at a later date, we have everything we need. Hopefully, though, this will be the end of it."**

**I nodded. I hoped so, too.**

**Tom shook hands all around and headed out of the conference room.**

Chapter 13

_**Two weeks later…**_

Over the past two weeks, Lester and I had checked with every business anywhere near the intersection of Market and Elm, whether they were Rangeman clients or not. We were hoping that someone's security system had recorded the traffic stop. As Lester had suspected, most of them were focused on the front of the building – the door and front windows. A few ranged out into the street, but the angle was wrong.

One of the businesses was perfect. The owner had a brand new Jag that he parked on the street in front of his store, and he wanted the camera to cover his car as well as the storefront. Unfortunately, Joe's car had blocked us from the camera's view.

I wouldn't be deterred, though. I left business cards with everyone, hoping that even bits and pieces of the footage could be put together to show what had happened. Several people had promised to review their tapes and get back to me if anything at all showed up – even a partial recording of the stop.

Hector and Hal had tried hacking in to various traffic cameras in the area with little success. A few were red light cameras, so they were only activated when someone ran the light. They found evidence of me running the light that had caused the stop, but the camera shut off immediately after that. The other cameras that were within range were at the wrong angle. They downloaded all of the footage anyhow, thinking that maybe it could be pieced together with security footage, like a puzzle, to show the whole scene.

I was grateful that they were all so willing to work on this for me. Especially since a lot of it was on their own time.

Truthfully, the guys had been exceptional the past two weeks. Well, exceptional, but maybe just a tiny bit overprotective. Alright, they had been downright pains in the ass!

Rumors of my possible pregnancy had flown around Rangeman like wildfire, further fueling my belief that these ex-military men were even worse than the old ladies at the Clip 'n Curl. Once the news was out, I was under constant scrutiny. The guys insisted that I quit working for Vinnie immediately, just in case. I quickly gave in to that demand, agreeing that it wasn't safe for me to continue. That, however, was the last of their demands that I gave in to with good grace. The rest of them were just ridiculous.

The first one to get my death glare was Cal. He had been on monitors and had seen me pull in to the parking garage and start to unload a few bags from the grocery store. Instead of calling one of the guys to come down and give me a hand, Cal had come barreling down the stairs, screaming for me to put them down. I felt like a criminal being yelled at by the FBI to drop my weapons and lay down on the ground. He scared the shit out of me! I screamed and threw my bags up in the air, causing a can of Coke to explode and shoot all over the Turbo.

When I finally realized that Cal's objective had been to stop me from carrying anything too heavy, I forgave him. But I still made _him_ tell Ranger about the Turbo. After all, it was his fault!

From that day forward, the unofficial rule at Rangeman was that I couldn't lift anything heavier than a stapler without permission. I hated to break it to them, but on any given day my purse could weigh anywhere from 10 to 20 pounds. It mostly depended on whether or not I had my gun in my purse. And whether said gun was loaded or unloaded.

The next ridiculous decree was handed down by Tank who decided that I shouldn't be driving anymore. This ridiculous decision was all Hal's fault. Apparently while skimming the newspaper, he had seen an article where a pregnant woman was killed in a car crash. The article had mentioned that the air bags deployed and had caused some trauma to the baby. What Hal had failed to notice in the second half of the article was that the cause of death was due to internal bleeding caused by the side impact of the crash.

You know the saying a little knowledge is a dangerous thing? Yeah, well Hal got the idea that the air bags had killed her because she was pregnant, and he ran with it. Literally. He ran straight to Tank and demanded that I have my driving privileges revoked. Not only that, but I wasn't even allowed to sit in the front passenger seat. Oh, no! I had to sit in the back like a little kid so that the big scary air bags couldn't get me. Gah!

Next on my shit list was Bobby. Once he found out that I might be pregnant, he had gone crazy researching anything to do with pregnancy. One afternoon he popped around the wall of my cubicle and yelled, "Hey, Bomber!" Then he proceeded to take my blood pressure and yell at me because it was high. Well, no shit, Sherlock! You just jumped out at me! What are the odds that my heart rate and blood pressure sped up? Geesh! I was ready to tackle him to the ground, but I figured if I did the Merry Men would mutiny and super glue my ass to my chair so that I couldn't get too physical!

Up to that point I had been able to deal with most of what was thrown at me. Until two days ago when Ranger and Ella sat down with me to plan out menus that they thought included healthier options of all of my favorite foods. Although I wouldn't admit it, most of the food was pretty good. Instead, I informed them that I was on the warpath and that I considered them both traitors. Ella caved and snuck me a piece of pineapple upside down cake, so she was forgiven. Ranger, however, continued to monitor my intake of sugar and caffeine. If it weren't for the fact that he was more than happy to take care of my excess sugar hormones, I would have stabbed him to death with a toothpick by now!

Speaking of taking care of my excess sugar hormones, let's just say that Ranger was more than willing to do the job. Over and over and over and over again! I spent half the day feeling like a coiled spring waiting to explode and the other half of the day relaxed into a puddle of goo. Life was pretty good! While addressing the sugar hormones, Ranger and I had decided to use condoms. Just in case. We were waiting to find out whether or not I was already pregnant. If I wasn't, then Bobby had birth control shots waiting for me downstairs. If I was, then the birth control shots would be put on the shelf for the next nine months.

After giving ourselves a few days to think about the possibility of my being pregnant, Ranger and I had had another serious talk about children. We both agreed that the timing wasn't great, but we were committed to continuing the pregnancy. If there was one. I secretly believed that I was pregnant. Further than that, I was pretty sure that the baby was a little boy because every night when I closed my eyes, I saw a beautiful miniature version of Carlos wrapped in a blue blanket. He would smile and coo at me, and I woke up with a big smile on my face almost every morning.

Today was the day. My period should have started by now. I was a couple of days late. While this wasn't unusual, especially with the stress I'd been under lately, I still thought it was time to check. Ella had graciously offered to pick a test up at the store for me so that the already crazy Burg grapevine didn't have one more Stephanie Plum rumor to add to it.

The box was sitting on the bathroom counter, just waiting for me to open it. I hadn't gotten my period yet, and I was 98% sure that I was pregnant with Carlos's baby. I never thought that I would be OK with being pregnant, but over the past few weeks I had come to accept the idea. Carlos had been wonderful. Except for being a Food Nazi, he was spoiling me rotten, and it was easy to picture him helping me with a miniature version of himself.

I opened the box and used the test. I set it on the counter and washed my hands, glancing over at it nervously. My mind began to wander, and I pictured my beautiful baby boy with dark eyes and straight, silky hair like his daddy. He grinned at me, and I looked up in the mirror to see a loving expression on my face. I was in love with my imaginary baby!

I looked down at the test and watched as the results began to show. One line. Wait a minute. Didn't one line mean…. I looked at the box. One line meant _not pregnant._ But I was _sure_ that I was. Wasn't I? This time, the expression I saw in the mirror looked crushed.

Carlos knocked on the door. "Babe? Everything OK?" he asked quietly.

Was it OK? This was what we'd wanted, right? We hadn't wanted to have a baby so soon. We'd both agreed that the timing was off. It was too soon. We weren't ready. We hadn't had time for just us, to grow our own relationship. So then why did I feel like someone had punched me in the stomach?

"Babe?" Carlos called again. This time he sounded a little worried.

If I didn't answer him pretty soon, he'd probably rip the door off the hinges. Or at least pick the lock. But what did I say to him? I sank to my knees and buried my face in my hands.

Carlos knocked on the door. "Babe?" Now he sounded panicked. "Please open the door."

I wanted to open the door for him. I really did. But I just couldn't make myself move. It was like I was in shock.

I heard Carlos fiddling with the knob, and a few seconds later the lock popped open. Carlos pushed the door open and rushed into the room. When he saw me kneeling on the floor, he crossed the large room in one big step and knelt beside me. He took in my big eyes, tear stained cheeks, and quivering lower lip. He folded me into his arms and rocked me back and forth. "Shhh, Babe. It'll be OK. We can hire a nanny. And you don't have to quit working, I promise! We'll do whatever you want!"

I drew in a shuddering breath and began to cry harder. He thought I was upset because the test was _positive_! He thought I didn't want to be pregnant!

I leaned back, and he cupped my face with his large hands. "I promise I'll be there for you, Babe, every step of the way. Please don't be scared or upset!" His eyes begged me to agree.

I shook my head no as the tears ran down my cheeks. "No, Carlos…"

He looked pained. "Stephanie…" he choked out. "I thought you wanted to have my baby!"

I held up the test. "It's negative." I whispered. "I'm not pregnant."

He looked stunned for a minute and then he wrapped his arms around me again, rubbing my back. "Oh, Babe!" he whispered over and over.

We stayed on the floor like that for a long while, him holding me and comforting me. Finally I drew a deep shuddering breath and pulled back. "Sorry," I said with a weak smile. "I know this is the result we wanted. I guess I had just gotten kind of used to the idea of a mini Carlos running around."

Carlos leaned down and kissed my nose. "I was hoping for a girl." He stated. "One with wild, curly hair and big blue eyes like her mommy."

I bit my lip as my eyes filled up with tears again.

His hands were buried in my curls. "We can try next month if you want, Babe." He offered.

I shook my head. "No. I think we need to wait a while. I know this is a good thing. It just hurts a little right now. I guess I had gotten more used to the idea than I realized."

He pulled me back into his arms. "Me too, Babe." he whispered.

We spent the rest of the evening curled up on the couch just holding each other while we watched movies and ate popcorn. There was nothing sexual about it, but it was very intimate. I felt loved. Cherished even.

When the second movie ended, I got up and stretched. I put our bowls in the sink and headed into the bathroom to get ready for bed. When I sat down on the toilet, I noticed the bright red stain in my panties. I guess that made the test official. I started crying again for the imaginary baby that had never existed.

I finished up in the bathroom and crawled into bed. Carlos wrapped his arms around me and pulled my back against his front. "You OK, Babe?"

"I got my period." I whispered.

His arms wrapped around me tighter. "Someday, Babe. Someday."

I nodded. "I know." I managed in a voice thick with tears.

He held me tight and whispered Spanish softly into my hair as I fell into a restless sleep.

_**TBC**_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I woke up the next morning feeling like shit. My throat was raw, and my eyes felt like they had sand in them. The after effects of a night spent battling tears. I was surprised to find that Carlos was still in bed with me. He was awake; I knew that for sure. But he was just lying here. Still. Holding me.

"Morning," I rasped out.

He just squeezed me a little tighter.

"You didn't go for your run this morning?" I asked.

"I didn't want you to wake up alone."

I sniffed back a few tears. "Thanks." I whispered.

He just dropped a kiss on my head in response.

And this was why it felt so right to call him Carlos instead of Ranger. This feeling, this intimacy.

It had happened a few days after we returned from the police station. We had been in bed together, and things were getting incredibly hot. After an especially well placed nibble, I had moaned, "Ranger!" He froze and pulled his head back.

I opened my eyes and looked around for him. "What's wrong?" I panted. 

"Babe, I want you to call me Carlos." He said huskily.

"OK," I agreed quickly, trying to direct him back to his previous efforts at making me a _very_ satisfied woman.

"I mean it, Stephanie." He said seriously.

I blinked and tried to come down from my Ranger (err, Carlos) induced state of bliss. "Why?" I had whispered.

"Because I love you. And besides, it's a little weird for my woman and the mother of my 'maybe baby' to call me by my street name. I don't want you to call me the same thing the gang leaders on Stark call me."

I had nodded and pulled him up my body. When his lips were finally even with mine, I whispered, "I love you, Carlos." And that had been the end of _that _discussion.

I smiled, remembering how happy – very happy – he had been to have me call him Carlos.

"What time is it?" I asked, trying to turn over to see the clock.

"7:30."

I gasped. "You're going to miss the Morning Meeting!"

He shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't start for another half hour. If I make it, I make it. If not, Tank can take charge."

I turned in his arms. "Want to _plan_ on missing it?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Depends on what I'm missing it for." I could see the corners of his lips twitching.

"It's just that I need a shower," I began, drawing lazy circles on his chest. "And it's so _hard_ for me to reach the middle of my back all by myself…"

He growled and stood up. Yanking me out of bed, he tossed me over his shoulder. That was fine by me. Now I had a perfect view of his delicious ass.

I leaned down to pinch it, and he retaliated with a slap on my bottom. I grinned wickedly _I kind of liked this game!_

"Babe!" he laughed.

Whoops! My cheeks flooded with color. "Out loud?" I asked.

"Yeah, Babe, out loud!"

When we got to the bathroom, Carlos sat me on the counter and began pulling my t-shirt over my head. I suddenly realized the 'surprise visitor' that I had gotten last night, and my eyes grew wide with panic.

He stopped and looked at me. "What's wrong, Babe?" he asked.

"Well, it's just… You know last night I… Um…" I stuttered.

He looked at me for a minute, and finally I saw understanding dawn on his face. "It's OK. That doesn't bother me." He reassured me.

My cheeks flamed. "But it kind of bothers me!"

Carlos turned on the shower and waited until the water got warm. "I'll step out, Babe. You get in first and do what you think you need to do. I'll be back in a few minutes. OK?"

I nodded. I waited until he stepped out, and then I stripped as fast as I could and hopped in the shower. I washed 'down there' several times and was relaxing under the warm spray when I heard the door open.

I tensed up just a little and bit my lip when Carlos opened the shower door. He smiled when he saw the uncertainty on my face. He came over and wrapped his arms around me. "We won't do anything that makes you uncomfortable." He whispered.

I nodded and leaned against him. He tipped my head up and kissed me, pressing his lips against mine tightly. He nipped my bottom lip with his teeth, sucking it into his mouth, and I moaned. His eyes sparkled at the noise, and he devoured my lips again, then moved along my jawline and up to my ear. I shivered as he reached the sensitive spot behind my ear. He nibbled along the column of my neck until I was in a serious state.

Without even thinking about it, I hooked a leg around his waist. "Stop teasing me." I ordered him breathlessly. He didn't answer, he just moved his mouth to my breasts. He would lazily lick and nip at one nipple and then move to the other. Back and forth, back and forth. I panted and thrust up against him, grinding into his erection.

When he felt me press against him, he growled. "Not yet, Babe."

"Yes!" I pleaded. "Now! Please! Right now!"

He lifted me up, and I wrapped my other leg around his waist, rubbing shamelessly against him, my hands tangled in his hair.

He poised at my entrance. "Are you sure?" he asked, searching my eyes.

_Why was he asking me questions? He needed to quit talking and just bury himself inside of me already! _

Apparently I said that out loud because he growled and thrust into me. He pounded in and out of me over and over before he walked us back to the shower wall and sat down on the bench seat there. This change in angle caused him to push further inside of me, and I threw my head back, rubbing my breasts against his chest. "Carlos!" I wailed.

He grabbed my hips and thrust up into me. Leaning down, he captured a nipple between his teeth. "Oh! Oh! Oh!" I shrieked. I felt my muscles spasming around his cock as I came.

The pulsing of my inner walls must have been too much for him, because I heard "God, Babe!" and then Carlos joined me, falling over the edge.

My entire body felt like Jell-O as I collapsed against his chest. He nibbled on my shoulder, and I moaned lazily as his tongue and teeth teased me.

R&S R&S R&S R&S R&S

Once we had finished washing and getting dressed, we grabbed a quick bagel and headed downstairs. It was already 9:00, and I knew the guys would figure that something was up. Carlos hardly ever missed a Morning Meeting unless he was in the wind. And he never showed up for work at 9:00.

I bit my lip as we headed for the elevator. "What are you going to tell the guys about why we're late?" I asked.

Carlos raised an eyebrow at me. "Nothing. That's one of the perks to being the boss, Babe. I don't have to report to anybody."

"But they'll wonder what's going on." I protested.

Carlos nodded. "They probably will. But they're smart enough not to ask, and I'm not telling them anything."

I blew out a sigh. "What should I say if they ask?"

"Whatever you want, Babe. Anything. Or nothing. Up to you." He pulled me into the elevator and hit the button for five.

R&S R&S R&S R&S R&S

I had been at work for over an hour, and none of the Merry Men had approached my cubicle. That was probably because Carlos had glared at everyone when we got off of the elevator and walked me to my desk. Usually as soon as his office door was closed, the vultures would have descended on me. Today, however, Carlos had kept his door open. The guys would walk towards my area, look nervously over at the open door, and suddenly change directions.

In a way I was glad that they were leaving me alone. I didn't think I had it in me to explain the negative pregnancy test to each guy over and over again.

Of course the Merry Man who wouldn't be afraid to approach my desk would be Lester. He swaggered over to my cubicle. "What's shakin', bacon?" he asked, wagging his eyebrows up and down.

I smiled at him, but it didn't quite reach my eyes. His expression changed from joking to concerned, and he dropped down into a squatting position so that we were at the same eye level. He reached out and gently patted my belly. "Feeling OK?" he asked.

Well, crap! How was I supposed to keep it together when he did shit like that? I shook my head no and started bawling. He looked shocked for just a second, but he recovered quickly, wrapping his arms around me. He sat down cross legged right on the floor to my cubicle and pulled me onto his lap. I buried my face in his shoulder and just sobbed while he rubbed my back.

It took maybe 2 minutes for the rest of the Merry Men to assemble outside my cubicle. Seconds after that, I saw them shift to the side to let Carlos through. He leaned down and gathered me up in his arms. I flung my arms around his neck. "I'm soo-ooo-rr-rr-ry." I hiccupped. "I'm s-s-soo-ooo soo-oo-or-rr-ry!" He put a finger under my chin and tipped it up to look at him. The blank mask was gone, and I could see that he was upset, too. The guys traded nervous glances at his expression. They weren't used to seeing their leader show emotion. Definitely not that kind of emotion.

Carlos gave me a soft kiss. "Shh, Babe. Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong." He told me in a husky voice.

The guys watched silently as he carried me out of my cubicle and into his office. He sat me down on the leather couch and wrapped a soft blue throw around me. He picked up his phone and had a whispered conversation with someone. Since Ella appeared minutes later with hot chocolate and cookies, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that was who he called.

Ella came over and pulled me into a hug. She clucked and fussed over me, patting my back. When she pulled back, I could see tears in her eyes, too. "You just call if you need anything, Stephanie. Even just to talk." I nodded, and she excused herself, slipping back out of the office.

I felt almost guilty for making such a big scene. It wasn't like I had _lost_ a baby. I hadn't been pregnant at all. It was just that it had felt so real! I had been so sure! I shoved that thought out of my head and drowned my sorrows in chocolate.

After my sugar binge, I laid down on the couch and pulled the throw over me. I would have gone up to the apartment, but I didn't really want to be alone right now. Carlos seemed to understand. Although he didn't say anything, it was nice to know that he was here with me. I took a short nap, and when I woke up I was feeling almost human again. I brought my laptop into Carlos's office and sat on the couch running searches while he worked on payroll and account billing at his desk.

I had just entered my third search when my cell phone rang. I answered it, and a quiet voice asked, "Is this Stephanie Plum?"

I pulled the phone back and looked at the caller ID. Not a number I recognized. "Yes, it is. Who's this?"

"My name is Evelyn Kaszowski. I own Evelyn's Bridal Shoppe on Market Street."

"Oh, yes! Were you able to find something on your security footage, Mrs. Kaszowski?" My heart started beating faster, and I could feel the butterflies multiplying in my stomach.

"Yes, actually I was. I think the tape shows pretty clearly what happened. I have it here for you if you want to pick it up."

"Yes! Yes, I do! Thank you! I'll be right there!"

"Um, dear?" Mrs. Kaszowski interrupted.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Would you mind not bringing one of those big guys dressed all in black with you? At least not into the store? They kind of scared some of the brides last time." She asked nervously.

I smiled. "No problem. I can come by myself. I'll be right there!"

I ran out of Carlos's office and right smack into Lester. "Got him!" I crowed.

"Got who?" Lester asked, perplexed.

"Joe! The lady who owns Evelyn's Bridal Shoppe just called. She said her security footage recorded the whole thing. She thought it was pretty clear. I'm headed over to grab the tape now."

Lester started towards the elevator. "I'll ride along."

I frowned at him. "Well, you can come if you really want, but you'll have to stay in the car."

Lester raised an eyebrow at me.

I grinned. "I guess you scared some of the brides who were in for fittings last time. She specifically asked that I didn't bring any of the big guys dressed in black with me."

Lester rolled his eyes. I was having a horrible effect on the Merry Men! "Fine!" he huffed. "I'll just stay here. But I want to see that tape as soon as you get back!"

I grinned. "No problem!" I yelled, racing down the stairs. I know, me taking the stairs, shocking! But I was so full of nervous energy that I couldn't stand still long enough to wait for the elevator.

I ran over to the key box on the wall and grabbed the set to "my" SUV. I raced over to the bridal shop, careful to stay under the speed limit and not to run any lights. As soon as I had the car in park, my door was open, and I was hopping out. I tried to settle myself down before I went racing into the bridal shop in full on bounty hunter mode.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly pushed the door open. I heard the little bell ring, letting Mrs. Kaszowski know that she had a customer. She came bustling out of the back and smiled when she saw me. "The tape is in my office, dear." She called. "This way." She motioned me to follow her to the back of the store.

When she opened the door to her office, I saw Joe standing there. I turned around and tried to leave, but he grabbed my arm and held it tightly. Mrs. Kaszowski hustled back up to the front of the store.

"What are you doing?" I hissed, trying to free my arm.

"I'm trying to talk some sense into you, Cupcake." He slurred.

"Have you been drinking? Oh my God, Joe! It's not even noon! You're drunk!"

He glared at me. "I'm not drunk. I just had a couple of beers before work, that's all."

I looked around the office. "So I guess there's no tape, huh?"

Joe grinned. "No. Ranger isn't the only one with ears on the street, you know. I heard that you were looking for a tape of me pulling you over. I figured you'd appreciate my technique. It's pretty much what Ranger has you do."

I glared at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Distraction, Cupcake! Only instead of using a whore dressed in a tight skirt to lure you here, I used little old Mrs. Kaszowski. By the way, she thinks you're under arrest, so it won't do any good to yell and scream when I cuff you and drag you out of here."

I sucked in a breath. "What?" I gasped.

Joe snapped a cuff on my wrist. "You heard me. You're coming with me." I tried to run, but he grabbed my other arm and twisted it painfully behind my back. I let out a yelp of pain, and he just smirked.

"You like it rough, don't you?" he leered.

My stomach clenched. "What are you talking about?" I whispered.

"I saw the pictures, Stephanie. I know about all of the marks that Manoso left all over your body. I always thought you were too unimaginative in bed, but hey, if you're into that S&M stuff, I'd be happy to play along."

I spit in Joe's face. "You're a pig!" I screeched at him.

His eyes grew cold. "I've got some toys in the car we could try out. Nothing fancy. A whip, some hot wax candles, a paddle."

I kicked him as hard as I could in the shin, and he released his grip for just a second. I started running towards the back of the store, but he beat me to the door.

He pulled me out the door and into the parking lot. I looked around the lot, but his car wasn't there. He must have parked somewhere else so that I didn't see it when I pulled in. He grabbed my keys out of my purse and shoved me into the back of the SUV, using a second set of cuffs to tether me to the grab bar over the door. Joe knew this car was tracked. He knew it had a camera in it. So why the hell were we taking my RangeMan SUV? My mind was warring with itself. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? If the guys could find me and get the video, it would be a good thing. It would show that Joe had kidnapped me from the bridal shop. But in the mean time, I had a feeling that this was a bad thing. A very bad thing.

_**TBC**_


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**Joe's POV**

I looked around the cargo area of the SUV. There was a substantial amount of blood. Plus some of Steph's hair. Anyone who saw it would assume that there had been a struggle back there.

My original plan had been to cut Stephanie's arm or leg, but in the end I couldn't do it. Instead I used a hypodermic needle to draw out several vials of blood which I spread around the cargo area. I still had a hairbrush of Steph's at my house, so it was easy to pull out several strands and add those to the back as well.

Smirking to myself, I unlocked the box around the dashcam and downloaded the footage of us, wiping the computer until it was blank. I turned the camera off so that I could drive down by the river, reactivating it once it had been abandoned by an empty warehouse. I placed an anonymous call into TPD and hung up, smiling at how well my plan was progressing. It was time to retrieve my truck and head back with my Cupcake.

**Ranger's POV**

I hadn't wanted to leave Stephanie this morning, but after her nap she assured me that she was fine. I waited until she had gotten started on some of the longer, more intensive searches we needed run, and then I headed out to meet with a new client. If it wasn't such a big account, I would have cancelled, but this contract alone would bring in over $2 million for RangeMan in the next several years.

The meeting went well, and the client signed, so I left feeling pleased. I climbed into the Turbo and rolled my neck and shoulders, willing myself to relax and find my zone. I smirked as I thought about how much Steph hated my silent driving behavior. I didn't do it to annoy her, even though she was pretty cute when she was annoyed. My lips twitched at the thought of her pursed lips and flashing blue eyes.

The reason I slipped into my zone was to center myself. It gave me a chance to evaluate what was important in my life and how to deal with the situations I was facing. Sometimes work things. Sometimes personal things. Today it was personal.

The past two weeks had been torturous. Even though Steph hadn't filed charges against me, the Burg had. Not only had they pressed charges, they had all taken me to trial, found me guilty, and sentenced me to a lifetime of dirty looks and snide comments. I didn't care. The opinion of a few people from Trenton, New Jersey didn't bother me. What bothered me was that Stephanie cared. I had told her over and over to let it go, to forget about it, but she was determined to prove my innocence to all of her hateful neighbors.

She and Lester had scoured the area for any sign of proof. Some of my guys had even illegally hacked into police cameras. I didn't care that it was illegal. I just didn't want anyone getting arrested to clear my more than murky name.

The final blow had been dinner at her parents' house. I think Steph had expected her family to believe everything she told them about Joe and I without question. Needless to say, they hadn't.

When we first arrived, her Grandma Mazur had dragged her upstairs under the pretext of checking out her newest "going to a funeral" pantsuit. Stephanie had trotted after her, completely oblivious, but I knew what her grandmother was doing. She wanted to ask Stephanie what was going on, and she didn't want to do it in front of me. I was fine with that. Not offended in the least. If Stephanie _were_ being abused, I would hope that her family would care enough to step in and find out what was going on. I only hoped, for Steph's sake more than mine, that her family did just that.

About ten minutes later, Stephanie slunk back downstairs. She walked straight over to me and grabbed my hand, giving it a hard squeeze. Her grandmother eyed me warily as we all walked into the dining room.

I leaned down and whispered into her ear. "Everything OK, Babe?"

She just bit her lip and nodded a reply.

Dinner at the Plum's house was very close to the fifth circle of hell. On any given night, you could be shot, set on fire, vomited on, or grabbed by a little old lady. It was kind of like playing Russian Roulette. You closed your eyes, pulled the trigger, and hoped you were alive at the end of the meal.

Valerie's family hadn't come that night because as Mrs. Plum put it, "Valerie and Albert hadn't wanted to expose the girls to our unhealthy relationship." I quirked an eyebrow at that, but inside I was snorting in amusement. Granted, the Plum family wasn't as dysfunctional as some families I knew, but come on! Valerie's mother was a closet alcoholic with OCD cleaning tendencies, her father was a spineless mute, and Grandma Mazur was an 80 year old Playboy Bunny wannabe. Valerie had gotten pregnant out of wedlock to a Jewish Pillsbury Doughboy who could barely keep his law practice thriving. And her daughter thought she was a horse. A friggin' HORSE for chrissake! I was feeling pretty good about our relationship in comparison.

Stephanie told them all what had happened with Morelli. Her grandmother seemed inclined to believe it, which relieved me. I didn't care if she thought I was innocent or guilty. I just wanted her to believe in her granddaughter enough to trust what she told her. Her father, of course, said nothing. He just sat and shoveled in forkful after forkful. Occasionally he would grunt, but I couldn't be sure if he was reacting to what Steph was saying or just eating too fast.

Mrs. Plum had refused to buy any of the story. It seemed she had gotten a first hand account from none other than Joseph Morelli himself. That he had the nerve to try to turn Stephanie's mother against her infuriated me. Did the man have absolutely no boundaries at all? No moral compass? Evidently not.

Dinner had ended early, when Mrs. Plum suggested that Stephanie take out a restraining order against me and move in with Joe so that he could keep her safe. Steph had stood up so fast that her chair tipped over. "Carlos has never laid a hand on me!" she had hissed.

Mrs. Plum had stood up, too, her finger shaking in Stephanie's face. "Neither has Joe!" she screeched.

"That's a lie!" Stephanie screamed. "He fingered me when I was 6, raped me when I was 16, and now he's physically assaulted me twice. You know the reputation the Morelli men have. Why is it so hard for you to believe that he would do this?"

Her mother glared at me.

Stephanie's eyes opened wide in amazement. "It's because Carlos isn't Burg, isn't it? Because little Joey from the neighborhood said the outsider did it, and that's easier to believe."

Her mother denied the accusation, but the red blush that had spread across her face told the real story.

"We're leaving." Stephanie announced. "We won't be back until you can accept that what I told you is true. Carlos would never treat me that way. Joe is the one who assaulted me."

I shook my head as I pulled into the parking garage on Haywood. Stephanie hadn't talked to her family since that night.

I headed up to five and poked my head into my office. I expected to see Steph sitting on my couch working, but the room was empty. I looked around for Lester. "Where's Steph?" I asked him.

"She got a call from a business owner on Market. She found something on her security footage, and Steph went to pick up the tape." Lester glanced down at his watch and frowned. "She should have been back by now, though."

I clenched my fists. "Who went with her?" I asked quietly.

Lester paled. "No one."

"And why the hell not?" I bit out.

Lester sighed and scrubbed his hands across his face. "She said the lady asked her not to bring any of the big scary guys dressed in black. It's a bridal shop, and she said we scared some of her clients last time."

"Too damn bad." I growled. "You should have gone with her anyhow."

I stalked over to the monitors. Cal looked up and flinched at the expression on my face. "Pull up Steph's trackers." I said in a deathly calm voice.

Cal nodded and started clicking keys. He frowned.

"Report." I ordered coldly.

Cal swallowed. "Her SUV is at an abandoned warehouse by the river. But her personal trackers are all over the place. One shows her at the bridal shop on Market. Another on Stark Street. And the last at Morelli's house."

I let out a roar and cleared Cal's desk with one swipe of my arm. Cal jumped up just in time to avoid getting scalded by his huge travel mug of coffee.

Lester swore under his breath and pulled out his phone. "I'm sending out an alert right now, Boss."

"I want teams searching every one of those locations. Now!" I roared when Hal hesitated.

Hal nodded and picked up the phone, assigning teams to each location.

I buried my face in my hands. Shit! I knew something like this was going to happen! Fucking Morelli! Why couldn't anything ever be simple with Steph and me? I let out a frustrated sigh.

**Steph's POV**

I was still handcuffed to the grab bar in my RangeMan SUV, and I watched in horror as Joe drew vial after vial of blood out of my arm. I wanted to jerk my arm away, but he threatened to let the needle break off in my arm or puncture the vein if I didn't hold still. After drawing about five vials, Joe squirted it all over the cargo area. He pulled out the hairbrush I had left at his house and pulled out several pieces of hair, adding them to the bloody mess in the back.

I knew that anyone who saw that would assume I was either dead or badly injured. I was assuming that was the plan. Joe confirmed my assumption when he called in his anonymous tip to TPD. I wanted to scream when I heard him tell dispatch that I had been murdered and the car had been dumped by an abandoned warehouse. He gave a description of Ranger as the murderer and his Turbo as the getaway car. I bit on the gag he had tied around my mouth, trying to chew through it or pull it loose any way I could.

It didn't matter. Nothing worked. Joe hung up the phone and turned around to grin at me. He uncuffed me, pulled me out of the SUV, and drug me over to his truck, recuffing me in the small back seat. He pulled off my gag before he climbed into the driver's seat, and I started talking immediately.

"Where are you taking me? What's going on?"

Joe just smiled at me. "We're going away together, Cupcake. A friend of mine has a rustic log cabin in Montana. We're leaving as soon as I pack us some bags. I just had to get Ranger out of the way before we left."

"What do you mean 'get him out of the way?' " I asked, panicked.

Joe smirked. "With the evidence they already have at TPD, the blood left in the SUV, and my anonymous tip, Ranger is going to be charged with at least assault. When you disappear, it'll be upped to murder. Easy."

I glared at Joe. "You don't think anyone's going to notice if you and I both disappear at the same time?"

He looked up at the rearview mirror, kind of startled as if he hadn't thought about that prospect. Dumb ass!

Joe's forehead wrinkled as he thought through what this might mean for his plan. I kept talking, hoping I could confuse him enough to buy me some time. If I stayed in the Trenton area, I knew that the Merry Men would find me. If Joe drove us out to Montana like he had planned, my odds narrowed considerably.

"Carlos will notice for sure if you're gone. He'll send all of the guys out looking for you. And when they find you, they'll find me!"

Joe exhaled loudly and pounded his fist on the steering wheel. "Damn it!" he muttered. "Fine! Change of plans. I'll wait until Manoso is officially charged, then I'll request some time off. Say this whole mess with you has got me distraught, and I need a vacation. Once I'm out in Montana, I'll tell them it's so much more peaceful. No bad memories out there, and I'm going to stay. That ought to keep everybody happy."

I nodded. Probably. And with any luck at all, it would give the guys enough time to find me.

We drove to a falling down building on Stark Street, and Joe unloaded me from his truck. He shoved me up the stairs and into an old one bedroom apartment. The whole building smelled like piss, and this apartment was no exception. The floor was filthy, and a huge roach lay dead by the door. I shivered, repulsed. "Thanks for sparing no expense, Joe!" I snapped at him.

He slapped me and said, "I think I liked you better when you had the gag on," and then proceeded to tie it back around my mouth.

He led me back to the bedroom and opened a closet, shoving me inside.

"I have to grab some of our stuff from the house. I'll be back soon, Cupcake." He brushed a kiss over my forehead and then wedged the closet door shut.

I sat and banged my head against the wall. Come on, Carlos! I silently prayed. I'm putting up the Bat symbol!

**Ranger's POV**

Bobby and Vince called in first with a report from the warehouse. Yes, her car was there. No, Stephanie wasn't there. The TPD had gotten an anonymous tip about the car, and they were already on the scene when the guys arrived. The back hatch had been up, and Bobby reluctantly told me that the carpet was soaked with blood. My stomach clenched at that news. Someone had hurt my Babe. When I found them, they were going to die.

I couldn't even let myself think of the possibility that Steph had been killed. She had to be OK! But who would do this to her? Of course, my mind went immediately to Morelli, but then Ram and Slick called from Morelli's house. They had found Steph's tracker- a pen. But no Steph. And no one was sure where this particular tracker had been this morning. Was this an old tracker that had been at Morelli's for a while? Or had Stephanie been there today?

Joe had been home when the guys stopped, and he was none too pleased at having a team of RangeMen show up on his doorstep. I ordered Ram and Slick to tail Morelli for now. Until we knew where Steph was. They were only too happy to comply.

Tank and Hector had stopped at the bridal shop. The woman there refused to talk to them, shooing them out of her store before they scared away all of her brides. She did say that Stephanie had been there earlier today but was already gone. The guys found her purse in the rear parking lot of the store. Her tracker- a tube of lipstick- was still inside.

That left just one tracker unaccounted for. The apartment building on Stark Street. Lester and Junior had taken that one. I was trying not to be impatient with them. I knew it was taking so long because they were being thorough. There were probably 15 apartments in that building, and they had to search each one. Although that sounds easy, it's not. There are lots of hiding spots in an apartment.

While we were waiting for word from the last team, Woody buzzed from the front desk. Cal answered it and looked over at me, eyebrows raised.

I raised one back and waited to see what was going on.

"Uh, Rangeman, TPD is here with a warrant for your arrest."

I bowed my head. Of course they were. Unfuckingbelievable.

_**TBC**_


	16. Chapter 16

Bold section from Chapter 15

**That left just one tracker unaccounted for. The apartment building on Stark Street. Lester and Junior had taken that one. I was trying not to be impatient with them. I knew it was taking so long because they were being thorough. There were probably 15 apartments in that building, and they had to search each one. Although that sounds easy, it's not. There are lots of hiding spots in an apartment.**

**While we were waiting for word from the last team, Woody buzzed from the front desk. Cal answered it and looked over at me, eyebrows raised. **

**I raised one back and waited to see what was going on. **

"**Uh, Rangeman, TPD is here with a warrant for your arrest."**

**I bowed my head. Of course they were. Unfuckingbelievable.**

Chapter 16

**Ranger's POV**

"Call Tom. Have him meet me at TPD. You're in charge until someone from the Core Team returns." I barked at Cal.

He nodded and picked up the phone immediately.

Straightening my shoulders, I walked down to the lobby. A uniformed officer was waiting for me. It was someone new, someone I didn't recognize. When I walked into the lobby, the young officer's eyes widened noticeably, and he gulped. Good. Let the fucker be afraid. I knew it wasn't his fault that he was here. He was following orders. But that didn't mean I had to be nice to him.

He read me my rights, cuffed me, and took me in. Tom met us at the station. I have no idea how he got there that fast, and I don't care. I paid him big money; he damned well better be there as soon as he's called!

Eddie met Tom and me in a conference room with a thick file folder. He tapped it on the table and looked over at me. "Ranger, I really want to believe you're innocent in all of this. That's what Steph told me, and I want to believe that she'd never lie to me. Please, for the love of God, tell me you have an alibi for today!"

I looked over at Tom, and he nodded. "I was at RangeMan almost all morning. I left to attend a client meeting and then headed back. When I returned to RangeMan, Steph was gone."

Eddie nodded. "I'll type up your statement and have it for you to sign in a little bit. I'm going to let the two of you talk. I have to tell you, Ranger, it doesn't look good."

With that, Eddie stood and walked out of the conference room.

**Lester's POV**

When Ranger had asked where Steph was, I felt my stomach clench. I had been involved in the project I was working on, and I hadn't realized how much time had passed. She had been gone a long time. Too long. I immediately sent out a text alert to all of RangeMan. Similar to an Amber alert, this let them know to keep an eye out for Stephanie.

When Hal started assigning teams, I volunteered to take the apartment building on Stark. Hector, Bobby, and I had done a redecorating job there a while back, and I thought I was pretty familiar with the building. Hal had nodded, so I grabbed Junior and headed out.

Our protocol in such a case is to start at the top floor of a building and work our way down. This building had three floors plus a basement. Junior and I took the stairs two at a time to the third floor. Working together, it took 5-10 minutes to secure, clear, and search each apartment. Even though they were tiny, the apartments still had lots of places to hide a body- alive _or not_.

A shiver ran the length of my spine. No! I couldn't think like that! Stephanie was alive. She had to be. And we would find her.

Every time I opened a kitchen cupboard, I had chilling flashbacks of the Stiva kidnapping. I made myself continue. Stephanie had survived that ordeal, and she'd survive this, too. She was a fighter. We continued our search, looking in every closet and under every piece of furniture, especially couches and beds.

It took a half hour to clear the third floor, and then we moved down to the next level. We had just started searching the first apartment on the second floor when Cal sent me a text. _Ranger arrested. Call when you can._

I immediately pressed the button to give him a return call.

"Yo!" he barked.

"What the fuck man? What has Ranger been arrested for?" 

Cal sighed. "He's the main suspect in Stephanie's disappearance."

"What?" I roared.

"Bobby and Vince followed the SUV's tracker. When they got there, TPD was already processing the car. The back hatch was covered in blood and hair. They matched it to Stephanie's blood type, and they're rushing the DNA testing. Evidently the cops received an anonymous tip stating that they watched someone murder a young girl matching Steph's description. The murderer dumped the car there and moved the body somewhere else. The description of the murderer matched Carlos, and the getaway car was the Turbo."

I blew out a sigh and scrubbed my face. "Any of the other trackers been located?"

"Yeah. The one at the bridal shop was in her purse. It had been thrown in the back parking lot. The other was a pen tracker at Morelli's. No one's really sure how long it's been there. Could have been from today. Could have been from months ago."

I nodded. "Alright, man. Thanks for the update. We've got the third floor done here. No sign of her or the tracker yet. We're starting the second floor now. We've got three floors plus a basement here, so if any of the other teams are done, they could head over and help us out."

"I'll send Tank and Hector over. Bobby and Vince are still watching the SUV, and Ranger ordered Ram and Slick to tail Morelli, so right now they're out as well. I'll let you know if I hear anything else. Call immediately when you find the tracker."

"Hoo-ah." I ended the call. Shit!

Another 30 minutes later, we moved down to the first floor. I was getting desperate. We knew that one of Stephanie's trackers was here. We just didn't know which tracker it was or exactly where in the building it was. The best outcome would be to find Steph with it, but even if that didn't happen, we had to find the tracker. It might give us a clue about who had taken her or where she was now. Unfortunately for us, Ranger liked to plant trackers in all sorts of everyday things and then just dump them in her purse or attach them to her in some way- her keys, her earrings, her sunglasses. Stephanie was fiercely independent and hiding the trackers made it easier to track her and avoided a fight over them. However, that also made it annoyingly difficult for us to find it now. Junior and I had picked halfheartedly through piles of trash looking for it. If we hadn't found it by the time we cleared the basement, we would have to go back to the third floor and start over, going through each disgusting piece of garbage looking for it. Hopefully that wouldn't be necessary.

**Bobby's POV**

When we arrived at the warehouse, the entire area was cordoned off with crime scene tape. Blue and red lights flashed all around. I looked over at the RangeMan SUV, and my stomach lurched when I saw the bright red stains in the back cargo unit. I walked over to Officer Litner. He and I had a pretty good working relationship.

"What do you know?" I asked him.

He glanced at me and frowned. "It doesn't look good, Brown. Word is dispatch got a tip about the car. The witness saw someone matching Ranger's description murder a girl matching Stephanie's description. The guy dumped the car here and took the body somewhere else."

I clenched my jaw and balled my hands into fists. "There is no way that Ranger would ever hurt Stephanie!" I ground out.

Litner held his hands up, palms out. "Hey, man! I'm just telling you what I heard!"

I nodded and walked away, immediately pulling out my cell phone to call Ranger. He had wanted an update as soon as we knew anything. I let him know that the car was here, but no Steph. I was reluctant to tell him about the bloodstains in the back of the SUV, but I knew that he needed to know. I told him that I'd call back as soon as I had more news, and I ended the call.

I walked up to one of the rookies at the scene and asked to speak to the officer in charge. Officer Mitchell strutted over, and I groaned. This guy was a prick!

I nodded a greeting at him. "Officer Mitchell."

He nodded back and hooked his thumbs in his waistband. "I see the great RangeMan has lost a car." He drawled lazily, smirking.

I clenched my fists and forced myself to remain calm. Assaulting an officer right now wouldn't be in anyone's best interest. "I'd like to access the audio and video devices on the car, Officer." I informed him.

He looked a little surprised to hear that the SUV had recording equipment. He tried to cover up his reaction, but I had already seen the raised eyebrows and wide eyes. "Well, right now that car is a crime scene." He informed me.

I nodded. "Of course, sir. I'd be happy to follow all of your protocols, but those recording devices will show what happened in the car. Surely that's the whole point of your CSI team being here. To gather proof and evidence about what happened."

He bristled. "Of course it is!" he snapped.

"Then you have no objections to me pulling the recordings?" I clarified.

"Right now this vehicle is being processed by our CSI unit. When they're done, it will be towed to the impound lot. You can access the recordings there."

I clenched my jaw. "So you are deliberately preventing us from obtaining evidence, Officer?"

Mitchell glared back at me. "Your boss is the prime suspect in Ms. Plum's disappearance. Do you really think I'm going to let two of his employees near the crime scene?"

"Are you suggesting that we would tamper with the evidence?" I ground out.

He narrowed his eyes back at me. "Just keeping the chain of evidence clear. You can have a look at it when it goes to impound. Not until then." He stalked back to the scene, ducking under the yellow tape.

I sighed and pulled out my cell phone. It sounded like Vince and I would be busy for a while.

**Ram's POV**

Slick and I had arrived at Morelli's house to look for Stephanie. He grudgingly allowed us to come in and look around. Of course, she wasn't there, but we did find her pen tracker on the counter in the kitchen.

Something about Morelli seemed off. I could smell the beer on him, but further than that, he seemed agitated. When I called Ranger with the update, I was glad that he wanted us to keep an eye on him. Something was definitely up.

Slick and I crept around the house, training our binoculars on the windows. I found Morelli in the upstairs bedroom. He had two duffel bags on the bed, and he was loading clothes and toiletries into them. I raised an eyebrow at Slick. I wondered what kind of trip Morelli was taking. Where was he going? And who knew about it? He reached into a dresser drawer and pulled out a handful of bras and thongs. Shit! I could only think of one woman who would have underwear in Morelli's dresser drawers.

I dropped my binoculars and picked up my cell phone.

**Ranger's POV **

My cell phone had been beeping like crazy for the last hour. I had a shitload of text messages and phone calls. The teams were checking in, updating me on their progress. Although I appreciated being kept in the loop, there was only one call I wanted. I wanted to hear that they had found Stephanie alive and well. Other than that, I just didn't care.

**Lester's POV**

My cell vibrated with a text message. It was from Tank. _Just parked outside. Heading in._ I smirked. Evidently Tank didn't want us to accidentally shoot him if he just waltzed in while we were on high alert.

We had just moved to the first floor, so we waited inside the door for him. "Where's Hector?" I asked, looking behind him.

"He got pulled into Bobby's team. They're towing the SUV to impound, and they needed Hector to help download the camera footage."

I nodded at him. "We've done the top two floors. We need to do this floor and the basement."

"We all going together, or do you want to split up?" Tank rumbled.

I thought for a minute. We'd already been here an hour. We really needed to finish clearing this building and find the tracker. And hopefully Steph. I ran my hand through my hair, finally coming to a decision. "I'll take this side of the hall. Tank, you take the other side. Junior, start clearing the basement." The guys nodded, and we headed off.

As I approached the first door on my side of the hall, I thought I could hear a quiet thumping noise. I raised my weapon and stood to one side of the door, carefully easing it open. I stuck my head through the door. Nothing. So far the building had been vacant, but abandoned buildings like these were often home to squatters or animals. The noise I'd heard could be either of those things, or nothing at all.

I carefully cleared the front room which was a small living room, kitchen, dining room combination. When I stepped into the bathroom, I heard the banging again. It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the wall. In the bedroom. I finished my quick scan of the bathroom and headed to the last room in the apartment.

I moved against the bedroom wall and stood still, listening. The thumping noise was coming from the closet. I edged towards it, gun drawn. A dresser and mattress had been pushed against the closet door, holding it closed. I carefully shoved them out of the way and stood against the wall, reaching out with one hand to open the door.

As soon as it was open, a form came speeding out of the closet, head down and ready to head butt anyone in its way. When I saw the mass of crazy brown curls hanging down from the bowed head, my heart leapt into my throat.

"Steph!" I choked out.

She stilled and turned to look at me. Tears filled her eyes, she was gagged, and her hands were cuffed behind her back. She had never looked more beautiful to me, though! She ran over to me, and I grabbed her up. With shaking fingers, I loosened her gag and pulled it off. She was sobbing. I fished in my pocket for a cuff key and freed her hands, rubbing her wrists softly.

I picked her up and carried her into the hall. "I've got her!" I yelled. Tank and Junior came running. "Call Cal and Ranger." I ordered Tank. He nodded, and I headed outside with Steph.

I loaded her into the backseat of the SUV and pulled out a medical kit. "Where are you hurt?" I asked.

She showed me her wrists and arm. When I saw the needle marks on her arm, I felt myself growing violent. I tried to tamp down the rage so that I didn't scare her, but all I really wanted to do was punch something.

"What are these marks from?" I growled.

"Joe drew blood and put it all over the back of my SUV. He was trying to make it look like…" she broke off as another wave of sobs overtook her.

I nodded. I knew what he was trying to make it look like. And from what Cal had said, he had succeeded.

I put some salve on her wrists and checked the needle marks. Hopefully Morelli had at least been decent enough to use a clean, sterile needle on her. I swabbed the area with an alcohol wipe and covered the pinpricks with a large bandage.

"Anything else, Beautiful?" I asked softly.

She pointed to the bright red handprint on her cheek. "I'm sure there's something here. Joe slapped me pretty hard, and it feels tender. But that's it. All in all, this has been a pretty non-violent kidnapping."

She was trying to joke and play off what had been done to her, but she wasn't fooling me. Her smile was forced and fake, and her eyes were filled with tears.

Tank came out then. "We need to head to TPD with Steph. Now." He ordered.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"They're getting ready to book Ranger and stick him in a cell. They need to see with their own eyes that Steph is alive and well."

We hurried to climb into the two SUVs and peeled out, headed towards the station.

**Bobby's POV**

When they were getting ready to tow the car to the impound lot, I called Cal. "I need Hal or Hector to meet us at the impound lot in ten minutes. They're towing the car, and Mitchell said we could pull the footage from the recorders once it was there."

"I'll send Hector. He and Tank are done following the bridal shop tracker."

"Hoo-ah!" I disconnected.

Tank's SUV came up behind ours at a light and followed Vince and I to the impound lot. We parked against the fence, and Hector hopped out, carrying his bag of tools and a laptop.

Tank rolled down his window. "I'm leaving Hector here. I'm being sent to Stark to help Lester and Junior. They're still working on clearing the apartment."

I raised an eyebrow at Tank, silently asking if there was any sign of Steph yet.

He shook his head just slightly, and I blew out a frustrated breath. Tank pulled away, headed to help Lester's team, while our team marched over to the guard shack.

"Mitchell gave us permission to download the camera footage from the black Explorer over there." I informed the guard, pointing at the SUV.

The young cop looked at our assembled group and paled noticeably. He was going to have to toughen up if he expected to survive as a Trenton police officer.

"I'll have to call Mitchell and get that verified." He informed us.

I nodded and growled. "Fine, but if Mitchell denies the request, I want to speak to him before you hang up."

The young kid bobbed his head up and down, nervously agreeing. He got Mitchell on the phone and held a whispered conversation with him before hanging up. "You're clear." He said, handing us the keys. "But he wants an officer present when the footage is downloaded, and he wants a copy of all of it."

I nodded. We waited a few minutes until the nearest patrol officer pulled into the lot. He climbed out of his cruiser and joined our group. We walked over to the SUV and got Hector set up. He unlocked the visible dashcam first. As we had expected, the hard drive was blank. Hector played with the files, and he was able to determine that the modification time stamp was just hours ago, meaning that Morelli had wiped it this afternoon.

Now came the moment of truth. Would there be anything on the second camera? The cargo area had been destroyed. First by Morelli and his invention of a crime scene. Then by the CSI team who had cut out sections of carpet, and swabbed the hatch from top to bottom.

We all held our breath as Hector pried open the hidden compartment that housed the hard drive for the second system. "It looks intact." He muttered to himself. "But only one way to tell for sure."

He pulled out his laptop and jump drives, fiddling with wires and connections. We watched as he began typing on the laptop, trying to access the files on the system.

"Success!" Hector hissed. A smile spread across his face as Hector turned the laptop around. We could see a paused section of tape- Joe shoving Stephanie into the SUV.

I turned to Vince. "Call Cal and Ranger." He nodded and immediately pulled out his phone.

I watched the footage over Hector's shoulder as he downloaded it onto his laptop.

Vince hung up from his calls and looked at Hector. "Do you have it all downloaded?"

Hector nodded.

"Then we need to get to TPD with the recording."

I raised an eyebrow at Vince.

"They're getting ready to book Ranger and stick him in a cell. They need to see the recording."

We helped Hector load up his supplies and climbed into our SUV, headed towards the station.

**Ram's POV**

As we continued to watch Morelli pack, my cell phone buzzed. I had a text from Tank. _Steph found alive and well at the Stark address_. It looked like an all RangeMan alert, so I guessed it was a follow-up to let everyone know that she was OK.

I was glad to know that our guys had her. While I had been watching Morelli pack for the two of them, I had a knot in my stomach. I had been worried for her. Worried that we wouldn't find her in time. Worried that Morelli would be able to take her away and we'd never find her.

While I had been thinking about the text message, Joe had finished packing. He was now carrying the bags to his truck. He climbed in his truck, and Slick and I climbed into our SUV. We stayed several car lengths behind Joe, trying to be just another car on the road. We made turn after turn trying to guess where Joe was taking us. When he made the left onto Vine Street, we knew where he was headed. The apartment on Stark. I wonder what his reaction would be when Steph wasn't there?

_**TBC**_


	17. Chapter 17

Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing! I appreciate all of the comments more than you know!

Bold section from Chapter 15

Steph's POV

**We drove to a falling down building on Stark Street, and Joe unloaded me from his truck. He shoved me up the stairs and into an old one bedroom apartment. The whole building smelled like piss, and this apartment was no exception. The floor was filthy, and a huge roach lay dead by the door. I shivered, repulsed. "Thanks for sparing no expense, Joe!" I snapped at him.**

**He slapped me and said, "I think I liked you better when you had the gag on," and then proceeded to tie it back around my mouth. **

**He led me back to the bedroom and opened a closet, shoving me inside. **

"**I have to grab some of our stuff from the house. I'll be back soon, Cupcake." He brushed a kiss over my forehead and then wedged the closet door shut.**

**I sat and banged my head against the wall. Come on, Carlos! I silently prayed. I'm putting up the Bat symbol!**

Chapter 17

**Steph's POV**

As soon as I heard Joe's footsteps leave the room, I sat up. I braced my back against the back wall of the closet and tried to push the door open with my feet, but I couldn't get it to move. I had heard him dragging things in front of the door. I was guessing that was why I couldn't get it open. What was out there- a bed, desk, or dresser? Maybe all three? Who knew?

My hands were still cuffed behind my back, but I wiggled around on my butt, feeling for anything that could help me get free. The guys had showed me a few times how to get out of a pair of handcuffs, but I hadn't really paid a lot of attention. I definitely needed to ask for that lesson again!

There was a lot of trash on the floor, and my hands brushed a few dead roaches- _shiver!- _ but I didn't find anything that I thought could help me pick the lock on the handcuffs.

I felt around some more to see if there was anything that I could use as a weapon against Joe when he came back, but that search also turned up empty. I sighed and pulled my knees up to my chest. I laid my head down on my knees and tried to think of a way out of the closet. I sat for a long time running ideas through my head, but every one seemed impossible for me to pull off. Finally I thought of something that might actually work.

This building was old and poorly constructed. It was practically falling down. Maybe I could kick though a wall and get out of this closet. I tried the far wall first. Placing both of my feet against it, I tapped around in various places, checking to see if I could feel a spot that was weak. Finding none, I picked a spot in the middle and kicked out hard and fast. No luck. It was the wall against the bathroom, and even if I managed to kick a hole in it, I'd have to maneuver around pipes and wiring. That probably wouldn't work. I scooted around and tried the opposite wall, testing for soft spots and then kicking both feet against it. Still no luck.

Suddenly I heard a loud noise outside the closet door. It sounded like someone was moving the furniture that had me barricaded in. My heart leapt into my throat. Joe was back. I started panicking. Deep breaths, Stephanie! Deep breaths! You need to concentrate and come up with a plan!

I had to figure out a way to attack him. I couldn't let him take me out of Trenton. But I had nothing that I could use as a weapon. I couldn't even run at him and hit, smack, punch, or claw at him! My hands were cuffed behind my back. If I tried to kick him, he'd just grab my leg and knock me over. I bit my lip and struggled to my feet. I'd just have to tackle him to the ground. I'd head butt him and hope for the best. I did have the element of surprise on my side. Maybe I'd knock the wind out of him for a few seconds. That would give me enough time to get out of the building at least.

Running out onto Stark Street handcuffed and unarmed was definitely jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, but I was hoping that somehow I could get away. Maybe one of my skips would feel sorry for me. Or maybe someone would be willing to help "Manoso's woman" pick the locks on her cuffs. For a fee.

The door swung open, and I raced out, head lowered. I was surprised when I didn't make contact with anyone. I heard a familiar voice choke out, "Steph!" and I stopped. Turning around, I saw Lester. Thank God! Tears sprung to my eyes, and my body was almost limp with relief.

Lester loosened the gag, and now the cries that had been muffled became full-blown sobs. I was trying to stop, but I couldn't get myself calmed down. Lester's blank face was gone, and I could see the effect my disappearance had taken on him and probably the whole team. He uncuffed my hands, and just when I thought my legs wouldn't support me any longer, he lifted me up and carried me out into the hall.

He yelled, "I've got her!" and Tank and Junior came running. Before I could ask where Carlos was, he ordered Tank to call him and Cal. Then he walked outside and loaded me into the back of an SUV. He pulled out the medical kit and began to address my wounds. Thank God there weren't very many! I showed him my wrists and the needle marks on my arms. I could barely choke out the explanation for the marks, but Lester seemed to understand. I was guessing that someone had found the SUV. In fact, there was probably a RangeMan team at that location, too. I was sure they had pulled up the tracker when I hadn't returned from the bridal shop.

I paled. Oh, God. I hoped Carlos wasn't at that location. If he had seen the car… the blood. He would have thought…. I let out a choked cry.

Lester finished working on my wrists and arm. "Anything else, Beautiful?" he asked softly.

I pointed to the bright red handprint on my cheek. "I'm sure there's something here. Joe slapped me pretty hard, and it feels tender. But that's it. All in all, this has been a pretty non-violent kidnapping."

I was trying to joke and play off the whole thing with a trip to Denial Land, but Lester wasn't having it. He gave me a knowing look and was just getting ready to say something when Tank came running out of the building.

"We need to head to TPD with Steph. Now." He ordered.

Lester raised an eyebrow at him.

"They're getting ready to book Ranger and stick him in a cell. They need to see with their own eyes that Steph is alive and well."

A lump was lodged in my throat. Oh, God! I guess now I knew where Carlos was. I didn't know if I should be relieved that he hadn't seen the SUV or pissed that Joe's plan had worked so well. From the sounds of it, the TPD had enough evidence to pick up Carlos for my disappearance.

The guys hurried to climb into the two SUVs, and we took off, speeding towards the station.

**R&S R&S R&S R&S R&S**

I jumped out of the SUV and ran towards the front door of the police department. Lester was running after me, yelling for me to wait, but I didn't even break stride. I kept running full tilt through the door and down the hall towards the interview rooms.

I saw Carl up ahead of me and came to a stop. "Where is he?" I panted. "Where's Carlos?"

Eddie came out of a room down the hall. He did a double take when he saw me, and walked quickly towards me. "Steph! Are you OK? What happened?" 

I waved him off. "I'm fine. Where's Carlos?"

Carl and Eddie traded glances. "What happened, Steph? We heard about all of the blood in the SUV."

I let out a frustrated breath as Lester, Tank, and Junior came running down the hall towards me. "I'm fine. You can see that. Where. Is. Carlos?" I bit out.

Eddie ran a hand through his hair. "He's in booking."

I turned on my heel and took off down the hall.

"Steph!" Eddie yelled. "You can't go down there!"

I ignored him and kept running. I skidded to a halt, out of breath, and looked through the windows of the room where Carlos was being fingerprinted. He looked absolutely miserable. I knew that the guys had told him I was fine, but I also knew he wouldn't believe it until he saw me with his own two eyes.

I opened the door to the room, and Carlos looked up. "Babe!" He let out a relieved sigh. I ran across the room and launched myself at him. He caught me and hugged me to him, smearing ink all over my clothes. I didn't care.

The two officers in the room were talking to us, but I had no idea what they were saying. My mouth had found Carlos's, and I was busy reconnecting with the man I loved. His hands were holding my ass, anchoring me to him, and there was no way that I was unwrapping my legs from around his waist.

Finally pulling back for air, I rested my lips against his neck and gave him a soft kiss. I heard snickering behind me, and I turned to see Lester and Eddie standing in the door. The two cops who had been yelling at us earlier were now trying to reason with Eddie, saying things like _interference in an ongoing investigation_ and _against procedure_.

Eddie let them go for a while, and then he shut them down. "Look, guys," he addressed them. "This is Stephanie Plum. She is the missing person that Mr. Manoso is accused of assaulting, abducting, and killing. Clearly she is alive and well."

He turned to me. "Steph, did Ranger assault you in any way?"

I smiled up at Carlos and brushed my lips against his lightly. "Never." I said, slightly above a whisper.

Carlos leaned down and kissed me again while the cops around us continued waving their hands and yelling. Finally, I slid down Carlos's front and touched my feet to the floor.

"You have no grounds to keep him here. I'm here. I'm alive and well, and Carlos has never hurt me. We're leaving."

As the room erupted into chaos all over again, the chief walked through the door shouting, "What the hell is going on in here?"

He did a double take when he saw me. "Ms. Plum! We were led to believe that you had been murdered by Mr. Manoso here."

I glared at him. "Well, that's clearly not the case. In fact, I was attacked and abducted by one of _your officers_."

He drew in a sharp breath. "What?" he bellowed. "Who?"

"Joe Morelli."

The chief's face showed his shock and doubt. "I don't understand. Detective Morelli has been nothing but concerned for you since you first came in here. He was the one who wanted to help you when you were first abused. Why would he abduct you?"

I blew out a breath. "I think we need to have a long talk."

The chief shook his head. "I would say so!"

He escorted our group towards his office and motioned for us all to take seats. I went to sit down on the couch next to Carlos, but he snagged my elbow and pulled me onto his lap. I raised my eyebrows at him in question, and he leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Your ass is completely covered in ink, Babe. Just trying not to destroy the Chief's couch."

I blushed. At least Carlos's pants were black! They wouldn't show the ink! 

Chief Doyle reclined in his seat. "Now, Stephanie, I'd like to hear what is going on between you and Detective Morelli."

I took a deep breath and recounted the stories of Joe visiting my apartment and the traffic stop, explaining that the marks on my shoulders and cheek had been from him. I told the chief how Joe had reacted when he heard that I had stayed the night with Carlos – that he had gotten angry and slapped me.

The Chief frowned. "That is nothing close to the explanation that I was given for those bruises."

I nodded. I had expected as much. "I'm sure that Joe blamed Carlos, but I assure you that those marks were not from him."

The Chief looked at us closely. I was sitting on Carlos's lap, my back pulled tightly to his front. His arms were wrapped snug around my middle, and his chin was resting on my head. I was certain that we looked nothing like a couple with an abusive relationship.

He gave me a stiff nod. "Tell me what happened today. How did Detective Morelli abduct you?"

"He knew that I had been talking to all of the business owners near Market and Elm. I was looking for a security tape that showed the traffic stop. I wanted to prove that Carlos was innocent. Joe had Mrs. Kaszowski call me. She said that her security tape showed the stop and offered to give me a copy of it. She owns a bridal shop, and she said that the RangeMen had scared her brides away the last time they were in with me. She asked me to come alone or to at least have them wait in the car. I had no reason not to believe her, so I went alone. When I got there, she took me back to her office to get the tape. But when we got there, there was no tape. Just Joe. She left, and Joe handcuffed me and drug me out to the SUV."

The Chief interrupted. "Was Mrs. Kaszowski aware of what Morelli was doing?"

I held my hands out, palms up. "No idea. He told me that she thought I was being arrested."

The Chief looked over at Carl. "Pick up Mrs. Kaszowski now and bring her in. I want to know if she was working with Morelli or just got roped into his plan."

Carl nodded and stood up, walking out the door.

Carlos's phone rang, and he answered it with a tense, "Yo!" As he listened, his posture relaxed and a smile played around the corners of his mouth. "We're in the Chief's office. Bring it in." he ordered and then ended the call.

There were several raised eyebrows around the room as we listened silently to his side of the conversation. Carlos locked eyes with the Chief.

"My men were able to download some footage from the SUV Stephanie was driving. It shows Morelli assaulting and abducting her."

The Chief paled and scrubbed his hand across his face. "Are they bringing it here?"

Carlos just gave him a curt nod.

We all waited silently until Bobby, Hector, and Vince arrived. Hector set up the laptop, and everyone crowded around it. I watched as Morelli shoved me into the SUV and used a second set of cuffs to fasten me to the handle above the door. We drove down by the river, and then Morelli climbed out of the car. I knew what would happen next, and I drew in a deep breath. When Carlos saw Joe begin to draw blood out of my arm, he let out an inhuman roar. His arms were so tight around me that I was having trouble breathing. "Carlos!" I gasped.

Immediately, he loosened his hold on me. He stood up, carefully depositing me back on the couch and strode over to the door. He braced his palms against the wall, his head hanging down between his arms. He was taking deep breaths and trying to reign himself back in, but I could tell it was a struggle. The muscle next to his jaw was working overtime, and his arms were spasming, as if his body was trying to rebel against him.

Tank walked over and stood behind him silently. He was the only one who had any hope at all of controlling Carlos if he lost his temper.

I waited until it looked like he was more under control, and then I silently got up and walked over to him. Tank's eyes widened when I approached him, but he didn't say anything. "Carlos?" I whispered softly. I knew he heard me, but he didn't change his position at all. I reached up and lightly brushed his arm. His head whipped around, and he looked at me with tortured eyes.

"I'm right here. And I'm fine." I tried to reassure him.

Carlos took a deep breath. "I know, Babe. But I can't stand to see him hurt you like that." His eyes flashed murderously, and I knew that if Carlos ever found Joe, he would kill him. I wasn't Joe's biggest fan. Especially not right now. But I didn't want him dead. And I didn't want Carlos to commit murder for me. Again.

He finally pushed himself off of the wall and grabbed me into a fierce hug. He buried his face into my hair and just held me for a few moments, as if convincing himself that I really _was_ OK. When he pulled back, we walked hand in hand back over to the couch and finished watching the video.

By the end, the Chief looked like he had aged 10 years. He took a deep breath and stood up to speak. Before he could say anything, there was a loud rap on the door. It opened and Carl ushered Mrs. Kaszowski into the room.

She looked around with wide eyes, clutching her purse to her chest. Leaning over to Carl, she hissed, "What are all of these people doing in here?"

Carl took her arm and guided her to a chair next to the Chief's desk. "They're all here to talk with you about Detective Morelli, ma'am."

She nodded nervously and looked over at the Chief. Chief Doyle smiled kindly at the old woman. "Mrs. Kaszowski, Stephanie Plum tells me that you called her earlier today and led her to believe that you had a security tape she wanted?"

Mrs. Kaszowski nodded. "Yes." She whispered.

"Did you really have that tape?"

"No." she answered lowly.

"Then why would you ask her to come to your store for it?"

Mrs. Kaszowski fidgeted. "I don't understand. Have I done something wrong? Officer Morelli said that she was under arrest."

The Chief nodded. "Can you tell me exactly what Detective Morelli said to you?"

She began twisting her hands. Her eyes darted from the Chief to me as she answered. "He said that Ms. Plum was wanted on several counts, including assaulting an officer. No one had been able to pick her up because her bodyguards were always around. He knew that she had spoken with me about a security tape, so he asked if I would help him bring her in. I was supposed to call and tell her that I had the tape if she wanted to pick it up. He needed to make sure that she came alone, so I said that the brides in my store were scared of the big men she had brought in last time and asked her to come alone. I walked her back to my office, and Officer Morelli arrested her."

Her forehead creased. "Is she not under arrest?"

The Chief patted her arm. "No, she's not. There are no outstanding charges pending against Ms. Plum. Detective Morelli abducted her and held her against her will for several hours today. Fortunately, her bodyguards, as you call them, were able to find her."

Mrs. Kaszowski became very pale. She glanced up at me and swallowed hard. "I didn't know." She whispered.

I stood up and walked over to her. I patted her arm. "That's OK. I understand. You thought you were doing the right thing."

She nodded and apologized before Carl escorted her back out of the room.

I sighed. Poor Mrs. Kaszowski. She was just another victim of Morelli's charm. Thank God the Merry Men had found me before he got back. Wait a minute! How _had_ they found me so fast?

I looked over at Carlos, my eyebrows raised. "Would you like to tell me how you knew that I was in the apartment on Stark Street?" I was pretty sure that I already knew the answer to that question, but I just couldn't imagine where on Earth he had hidden the tracker! My underwear?

Carlos smiled back guiltily. "Your shoes."

"My shoes?" I questioned. "You put a tracker in my shoes?"

Carlos slightly lifted one shoulder. "You usually wear those boots when you go out after your skips."

The unspoken end of that sentence was: _and you're usually in trouble when you go out after your skips._ I wanted to be upset, but it was kind of hard to be too indignant when his hidden tracker had, in fact, saved my life. Again.

I just sighed and shook my head.

The Chief cleared his throat, and we both looked over at him.

"Would I be correct in assuming that you have a tracker on Morelli as well?" he asked.

Carlos shook his head. "No. But we do have a team running surveillance on him."

The Chief nodded. "And where is he now?"

Carlos pulled out his phone and placed a call. I heard Ram answer with a "Yo!" before Carlos barked out "Morelli's location."

Ram cleared his throat. "About that. We were tailing Morelli, but we lost our visual of him on the interstate.…"

_**TBC**_


	18. Chapter 18

Bold section from Chapter 16

**Ram's POV**

**As we continued to watch Morelli pack, my cell phone buzzed. I had a text from Tank. _Steph found alive and well at the Stark address_. It looked like an all RangeMan alert, so I guessed it was a follow-up to let everyone know that she was OK.**

**I was glad to know that our guys had her. While I had been watching Morelli pack for the two of them, I had a knot in my stomach. I had been worried for her. Worried that we wouldn't find her in time. Worried that Morelli would be able to take her away and we'd never find her.**

**While I had been thinking about the text message, Joe had finished packing. He was now carrying the bags to his truck. He climbed in his truck, and Slick and I climbed into our SUV. We stayed several car lengths behind Joe, trying to be just another car on the road. We made turn after turn trying to guess where Joe was taking us. When he made the left onto Vine Street, we knew where he was headed. The apartment on Stark. I wonder what his reaction would be when Steph wasn't there?**

Chapter 18

**Ram's POV (cont'd)**

As we pulled onto Stark, I turned to Slick. "I'll follow Morelli. You tag his car and activate the tracker. Call it in to Cal and make sure it's live before you follow me in."

Slick nodded.

Morelli parked in front of the apartment building and climbed out, headed in the front door. I drove further down the street and then doubled back, parking across the street from him. Slick grabbed the tracker and headed over to the truck. I watched him slide underneath it as I mounted the stairs.

I stood in the entryway of the building, listening for any sign of Morelli. There was a hallway in front of me, stairs leading up to the top two floors, and stairs leading down to the basement. I didn't have to wait long before I heard a roar coming from the hallway in front of me.

I crept down the hall and looked into the last apartment on the left. I could make out a shadow in the bedroom of the apartment, so I snuck through the door and into the living room area. I crouched behind the couch where I had a full view of the bedroom. Morelli was standing against the far wall of the room, looking into what appeared to be the closet. His hands were fisted by his side as he let out another inhuman howl. He struck out, punching the wall and then tore the closet door off the hinges. Once it was free, he launched it at the window, shattering the glass all over the stained and worn carpet. He picked up one end of the bed frame and flipped it, sending it cartwheeling into the wall. One leg was now lodged into the drywall. He pulled drawers out of the desk and threw them around the room, scattering trash and debris everywhere. With a final snarl and a "Damn it, Cupcake!" he pulled out his gun and emptied 6 rounds into the mattress that was propped against the bathroom wall.

I melted back into the shadows as Morelli stomped out of the room and into the hall. At this point, my orders were still just to follow, not apprehend. However, it was clear to see that his behavior was escalating. When Slick and I had talked with him earlier today, he had been irritated but under control. When he emptied his gun into the mattress after screaming his ridiculous pet name for Steph, he had been anything _but_ under control. I knew that I needed to report the incident to Ranger and Cal, but first I needed to be sure that Slick had been able to place the tracker.

I glanced at my watch and sucked in a breath. Morelli and I had been in the building for a short amount of time. Around ten minutes. I was hoping that had been long enough for Slick to do what he needed to do. He hadn't joined me in the building, so I wasn't sure.

I peered out a front window and saw Morelli climb in his truck. I waited until he pulled away and then I jogged down the steps. Slick was already in the SUV, turning around to pick me up. I hopped in and nodded my appreciation that he was on the ball.

"You get it planted?" I asked.

He nodded to verify that the tracker was in place. "Yeah. Just barely. I still need to call Cal to verify that it's up and on-line. I had just stepped into the alley to make the call when I saw Morelli walk out, so I hopped into the SUV instead."

"Good idea." I nodded back. "Want me to get a hold of Cal?"

Slick nodded. "Yeah. The tracker's ID number is on the slip in the cup holder." He gestured to the console between us.

I pulled out my cell phone and hit the speed dial for the control room. When Binkie answered, I asked him to transfer me to Cal ASAP. In under a minute, I heard Cal's authoritative "Yo!" I had to admit that he did make a good boss when the Core Team was otherwise occupied.

"Cal. This is Ram. Slick placed a tracker on Morelli's truck. We've got a visual on him now, but we need to be sure that the bug is up and running. Can you check to see if this ID is transmitting?"

I could hear Cal clicking through the programs for the trackers. "Give me the ID." He commanded.

I picked up the slip of paper. "Alpha Tango 9 7 Foxtrot Charlie 3 5."

Cal clicked in the code. "Check. I'm showing the tracker right in front of your SUV. On Greendale, headed south towards the freeway. Correct?"

I pumped my fist. "Correct."

"I'll assign Morelli's name to that code and keep the tracker live. Do you have any updated orders regarding Morelli?"

"Negative. The last ones we got from Ranger were just to watch, not to subdue."

"Keep a visual. I'll keep the tracker up here."

"Roger that." I ended the call, flipping my cell and the ID code into the cup holder. "You did it." I told Slick. "The tracker is transmitting."

Slick grinned and nodded. I knew he was proud of himself. Hell, he _should_ be proud of himself! He had gotten the tracker attached and transmitting in an insanely short window of time.

We continued to follow Morelli down Greendale and weren't surprised when he headed for the interstate. That was the only reason that most people took Greendale to begin with. We were two cars behind Morelli when we hit the on ramp, and then all hell broke loose. The car in front of us tried to merge onto the freeway. Unfortunately for him, there were cars in the way. A large blue panel van saw the car merging into him, but had nowhere to go. All three lanes were jammed full of traffic and traveling at speeds of about 75 miles per hour. The car kept inching over, waiting for the van to let them in. The driver of the van was gesturing frantically and blowing the horn, but the car kept going. I watched in horror as the car collided with the van, causing them both to spin out right in front of us.

Slick swore and slammed on the brakes, turning the wheel hard to the left. He just barely managed to avoid the crash, but now we were the ones trying to merge right into oncoming traffic. With a quick twist of the wheel, he maneuvered us around the accident and over to the right hand shoulder. I grabbed the medic bag that Bobby always kept stocked in the SUVs, and we ran over to the scene. All RangeMan employees were trained in basic first aid, and a few of us had received further training. I had just been recertified in basic first aid as well as industrial first aid, which includes how to treat severe trauma wounds.

I pulled open the door to the van, and the driver was moaning, laying over the steering wheel. The air bag had deployed, and it looked like the guy had gotten the wind knocked out of him. I motioned for Slick to check the car while I helped to ease the guy out of the van and onto the shoulder. He was clutching his chest, and I felt around gently, asking him to point to where it hurt. He moaned and pointed to a few spots on his upper chest. It looked like he had a few broken ribs, but nothing else.

I pulled out my phone and called 911, requesting two ambulances. I explained that the van driver was stable but most likely had a few broken ribs. The dispatcher asked how many passengers were in the second car, and I walked over to see for myself. I sucked in a breath. "Two teenagers. Looks like neither were wearing a seatbelt. They're banged up pretty good. Lots of blood. Most likely from head trauma."

Wounds on the face and head always looked worse than they were. They bled a lot. Once you finally got all of the blood cleared away, it was sometimes hard to believe that a little half inch long gash could cause what looked like gallons of blood at the scene.

"Are you trained in first aid, sir?" the dispatcher questioned.

"Yes, basic and industrial."

"Can you safely move the injured parties to the side of the road to avoid the possibility of further accidents, or are they hurt too badly?"

"The van driver has been moved. I haven't assessed the two girls yet. What's the ETA on the ambulances?"

"About ten minutes. If you can assess and provide first responder care, that would be ideal. Are you comfortable doing that, sir?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm going to give the phone to my partner while I assess the girls. He can relay their condition to you."

"Go ahead."

I handed Slick the phone and walked over to the car. The driver had several facial abrasions and was clutching her abdomen. Because she hadn't been restrained, the force of the crash had thrown her violently into the steering wheel. I signaled to Slick and he walked over, helping me to slide her out of the car and onto the side of the road. I pulled a water bottle and a towel out of the bag and cleaned the layer of blood off of her face.

"The driver has minimal facial trauma. Possible internal bleeding due to the steering wheel. She is clutching her abdomen, and it is painful to the touch. As of right now, she is first priority." Slick relayed the message back to the dispatcher and then walked around to help me remove the passenger.

The young girl also had several small facial wounds which were bleeding heavily, but she was clutching her leg and howling in pain.

"What happened to your leg?" I asked her, trying not to jar it as we moved her.

"I don't know. I saw the crash coming, and I knew I wasn't buckled in." she sobbed. "I put my foot up on the dash to try to brace myself."

I winced. A buddy of mine in high school had done almost the same thing, only he had tried to brace himself with his arms. The force of the impact had shattered two inches of bone in each of his arms. The x-rays weren't pretty. There were small sections of bone that had just disappeared. Disintegrated. The doctors had to put steel rods in each of his arms to replace the missing bone.

I looked over at Slick, and he nodded, ready to relay her condition. "She braced for impact with her right leg. The leg is most likely broken, possibly missing sections of bone due to the force of the crash. She also has minor facial wounds. The female driver is still top priority."

True to the dispatcher's word, the ambulances arrived a few minutes later. The EMTs loaded the female driver first, confirming that she most likely had internal bleeding. She was raced to the hospital. The male driver and the female passenger were both loaded into the same ambulance and headed to the hospital for x-rays. It wasn't preferable, but it was still better than forcing one of them to wait for another ride. Since neither had life threatening injuries, they were fine with sharing.

Slick and I gathered up our medical supplies and gave our statements to the officers on the scene. We hopped back into the SUV as the tow trucks arrived to remove the two ruined vehicles. I rolled my shoulders and sighed as I picked up my phone. It was a damn good thing the tracker on Morelli's truck was activated because we had sure as hell lost our visual on him.

I was about to call Cal for the location when my phone rang. Startled, I looked down at the display. Ranger. Shit.

"Yo!" I answered.

"Morelli's location." He barked.

I cleared my throat. "About that. We were tailing Morelli, but we lost our visual of him on the interstate." I heard a growl. Before I could explain or continue, Ranger interrupted.

"Would you like to explain to me how a pair of fucking security experts loses their mark on the interstate?"

"There was an accident directly in front of us. Slick had to do some fancy driving to avoid the accident, and then we provided first aid to the three victims. By the time we were done, Morelli was long gone."

I waited in silence while Ranger digested this explanation.

"You and Slick OK?" he asked gruffly.

"Yes, sir."

"The others OK?"

"It looks like they'll all survive, but they'll be in pretty rough shape for a while."

There was silence from the other end.

I cleared my throat. "Before we lost Morelli, Slick was able to place a tracker on his truck. We've lost our visual, but we do have access to his location. Cal verified earlier that the tracker was live and properly transmitting. I was just about to call him for the coordinates."

"Stand down and head back to RangeMan. You and Slick take a few hours to decompress, and then we'll set up a team to locate Morelli."

"Yes, sir."

Ranger ended the call, and I turned my phone off. I looked over at Slick. "Change of plans. Ranger has ordered us back to RangeMan. Says we need to decompress."

Slick snorted. We'd all been in battle zones before, and while it was true that right now we were running high on adrenaline, it wasn't as though we didn't know how to handle it. Still, an order was an order, so Slick got off at the next exit and headed back to Haywood. Hey, if Ranger wanted me to prop my feet up and have a beer, who was I to argue?

**Ranger's POV**

I ended the call with Ram and hit the control room speed dial. When Binkie answered, I barked "Cal. Now."

Stephanie raised her eyebrows at my tone, but I didn't care. While I understood Ram's situation, I was still pissed that we didn't have a current location on Morelli. I didn't like unknowns. And right now, that asshole was one big fucking unknown.

"Yo!" Cal answered.

"Morelli's current location." I ordered.

I could hear Cal clicking the keys to bring up the screen. "Shit!" he swore.

"Report!" I barked.

"He's in Pennsylvania, headed west on I-76."

"What the fuck is he doing in Pennsylvania?" I swore.

Cal sucked in a breath. "I don't know, sir, but I'll continue to monitor his location."

"You do that." I ended the call and tossed my phone onto the coffee table.

The rest of our group looked at me curiously. Lester was the first to speak, of course. "Did you say Morelli is in Pennsylvania?"

I gave a slight nod. "Headed west on I-76."

Stephanie bit her lip. "Is that the way you'd get to Montana from here?" she squeaked out.

I lifted one shoulder. "It's one way. Why?"

She chewed the inside of her cheek. "When he was driving me towards the apartment on Stark, he told me that he was going to take me to Montana. That a buddy of his had a cabin there, and that's where we were going. Maybe he's going without me?"

I cupped her face gently. "Any ideas on who the friend was?"

She shook her head. "He didn't name any names. Just said it was a friend's place."

The Chief spoke up. "I'll ask around. Someone here is bound to know. These guys gossip worse than a couple of old women."

I nodded and then pinned the Chief with a blank stare. "When you get a name, I want it. And I want authorization to bring Morelli in."

He lowered his head, shoulders slumped. "And are you actually planning on returning Detective Morelli to Trenton?"

I glared. "Of course."

"Alive?" he clarified.

I answered coolly. "That depends on how willingly the Detective comes with us."

The Chief let out a frustrated breath. "Fine! It's certainly not as though the Trenton PD has funds to fly out to Montana and get him anyhow. We'll negotiate a contract with RangeMan for his return."

I gave him a smile. "This one's on the house. It will be my pleasure to go after Detective Morelli."

**R&S R&S R&S R&S R&S**

**Steph's POV**

By the time we made it back to Haywood, the guys hadn't had a visual on Joe in over two hours. According to the tracker, he was halfway across Pennsylvania, headed towards Ohio. There was no way that they could drive after him and catch up. For every hour that they would be driving towards him, Joe would be driving further west.

A few guys had suggested flying a ways ahead and then trying to ambush him somehow, but that was quickly dismissed. We didn't know for sure that he was heading to Montana, so there was no way to confirm his route. We could fly ahead to Ohio and wait for him along I-80 only to find that he had gone in another direction.

Morelli had just crossed into Ohio when the Chief finally called with a name. Brian Yoman. Evidently he was a buddy of Joe's from the Navy, and they had kept in touch all of these years. Brian had offered Joe the use of his hunting cabin whenever he wanted it, and Joe had called in the favor. One of the guys at the station had remembered Joe talking about it a few years back. The name had stuck in his head because of Morelli's story. Brian had evidently been razzed mercilessly during boot camp because a yeoman (also pronounced yo-min) was a naval petty officer. The guys thought it was hilarious, teasing him that he had been destined from birth to join the Navy. They then took to calling him Yo, Man! Evidently, the guy had taken it all in stride and was well liked by their group. I just thanked my lucky stars that his name was something memorable.

I started running searches and compiling information on Brian while Carlos and the Core Team researched the area around his cabin. Evidently, it really was secluded. There was nothing around it for miles. Now that we knew Joe's destination, the guys decided that it would definitely be smarter to apprehend him at the cabin. It was in a quiet, out of the way spot. There would be no witnesses, no chance of other people being involved in any way. Our only other options were to try to catch him somewhere on the road and force him to pull over or try to catch him while he was already pulled over at a rest stop or restaurant. Both of those held the possibility for too much to go wrong.

Forcing him to pull over could lead to an accident hurting innocent people. And anytime you tried to apprehend someone in public, it was always a sticky situation. Bystanders who were infatuated with Dog the Bounty Hunter and wanted a chance to be him sometimes tried to "help" you. This most often led to someone getting accidentally maced. Either that, or they sympathized with the victim and tried to stop you from arresting them. Neither scenario was what we were looking for.

So by the time Joe was near Cleveland, the agreed upon plan was for a team of RangeMen to fly to Montana and drive to the cabin. They would wait there for Joe, subdue him, and fly him back to Trenton. The only issue now was who got to go and who had to stay behind. Of course everyone wanted to go, but Carlos insisted that the team needed to be a manageable size.

He wanted a member of the Core Team to stay behind. He and Tank were going; that was a given. It was decided that Bobby should go since he could treat any injuries Joe may receive during transport. That meant Lester had effectively drawn the short straw. I felt sorry for him until I learned that I was being left behind, too.

When Carlos read aloud the list of names- himself, Tank, Bobby, Cal, Ram, and Hal- I wanted to scream. Instead, I gave him a cold glare and walked out of the planning session and straight to the elevator. I fobbed myself up to 7 and threw my keys in the dish on the sideboard.

Damn it! Why didn't anyone ever take my feelings, thoughts, or opinions into account? I wanted to go! I deserved to go! This was my fight, not theirs! I had gotten myself worked up into quite an angry state when I heard the door to the apartment open.

I stalked out into the hallway to see Carlos in the foyer. He shut the door and walked over to me slowly. "Babe," he began in a soothing tone.

"No!" I snapped at him. "You don't get to just 'Babe' me and make this go away! What the hell, Ranger?"

His head snapped up when I called him Ranger. "No!" he growled, stalking towards me. "You don't get to call me that anymore."

I put my hands on his chest and gave a hard shove. "Well you're certainly not acting like my Carlos. You're acting like Ranger."

He grabbed my shoulders. "I'm trying to protect you, damn it!"

I tried to move out of his grip, but I was stuck. "Well maybe I don't _want_ to be protected, Ranger! Did you ever think of that?"

He backed me against the breakfast bar. "Stop. Calling. Me. That." He ordered in a low tone. _Shit!_

"Stop trying to protect me." I hissed.

He glared at me and took a step towards me, now almost completely pressed up against me from head to toe. "I can't."

My heart rate sped up when he leaned down to capture my lips in a searing kiss. I moaned and pressed myself up against him before I remembered that I was supposed to be mad at him. I pulled back, panting. "Stop that!" I ordered him. "I'm mad at you!"

His eyes twinkled as he smirked at me. "Anger is a passionate emotion, Babe."

I smacked his arm. "I'm going with you."

The teasing look left his face. "Babe, please. Stay here."

I glared back. "Why?"

He lowered his head and took a deep breath. "You left before we went over Brain Yoman's history. He has a very questionable past. He's linked to several cases of assault, rape, and abuse. He has also been the prime suspect in several disappearance cases. The cabin is co-owned by Brian and several other guys. They all go up there frequently. There is some evidence to suggest that they may have killed a few women up there and hid the bodies in the woods. Unfortunately, no proof has ever been found. We have no idea what we're going to find when we get there. We don't know if any of these guys will show up while we're there. These are not nice men, Babe. I don't want you anywhere near them. Please. Stay here." Carlos cupped my face in his hands.

I took in a sharp breath and swallowed hard, nodding. "OK." I answered weakly. "I'll stay here."

His lips were on mine in an instant. "Thank you," he whispered, pulling back.

"When do you leave?" I asked, biting my lip.

"I have a couple of hours. We want to get there and check to see if anyone else is in the cabin. Once it's cleared, we need to scout the area and set up watch so that we know when Morelli gets there."

I nodded. "Stay with me until you leave?" I asked hesitantly.

He scooped me up in his arms and carried me into the bedroom. "I'd like nothing more, Babe." He answered huskily.

_**TBC**_


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: **Just a few more chapters, I think, to wrap this story up. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing! This was my first attempt at writing a fanfic, and you made it much less intimidating than I thought it would be! Thank you, thank you, thank you! ;)

**Chapter 19**

**Ranger's POV**

I slid out of bed, smiling when I heard Steph's low moans of complaint. I moved my pillow over into the spot I had just vacated and watched her wrap herself around it. The thought that that pillow could be my body made me rock hard, but I couldn't climb back in with her right now. There was a situation in Montana that needed my attention first.

I pulled on my t-shirt, cargos, and boots, shuffling into the bathroom to splash some water on my face and brush my teeth. I rearmed myself with several weapons and then walked back into the bedroom to give Steph a kiss goodbye.

Somehow, in the five minutes since I had vacated the bed, she had managed to get herself completely tangled in the sheets, her wild curly hair flowing everywhere. I smiled and shook my head. She was a whirlwind; that was for sure. Sweeping in and completely turning everything upside down. At least that's what she'd done to me, to my life. Everything I thought I'd wanted had gone out the window when I started working with her. I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

She moaned, "Mmmm, Carlos?" My heart swelled. I was glad she was back to Carlos instead of Ranger.

"Yeah, Babe?" I whispered back.

"Don't get shot."

I smirked. "Don't go crazy, Babe."

"And Carlos?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you try not to kill Joe?"

I felt every muscle in my body tense. No. I absolutely would _not_ guarantee that that fucker was making it back to Trenton alive. No way. No how. "Why, Babe?"

She let out a soft breath, only half awake. "I don't want you to kill for me again."

"I'd do anything for you. You know that. Now go back to sleep." I pulled the covers back up around her, smoothing them out and tucking her in. She let out a contented sigh and lay still.

Satisfied that she was comfortable and staying put, I took the stairs down to five. The rest of the team was assembled, ready to go. As the only member of the Core Team remaining behind, Lester had full authority. He was standing with the team, waiting for any last minute instructions.

I nodded at the team. "Everyone ready?"

The guys each held up a duffle bag and nodded wordlessly. I could see that they were also suited up- Kevlar, several guns, knives, and a full utility belt each.

Tank spoke up. "Hal loaded all of the equipment you requested into the SUVs."

I nodded. "Load up. I'll be down in a minute."

The guys headed for the stairs, and I turned to Lester. "You're in charge."

He smirked back and rubbed his hands together gleefully. "I've got big plans, man. Big plans. I'm thinkin' lap dancers tonight, a topless pool party tomorrow…"

I punched his arm. "Focus!" I snapped at him.

He narrowed his eyes at me, but I could still see a smile playing around his lips. "Aww, you never let us have any fun!"

I raised an eyebrow at him, and he finally relented.

"Come on, Ranger, you know I've got this. It's not like I've never been in charge before. Go get the fucking cop and forget about RangeMan."

"I'm not worried about RangeMan."

Now it was Lester's turn to raise an eyebrow at me. "Then what _are_ you worried about?" he asked, confused.

"Stephanie. Listen to me, Lester. If anything happens to her while I'm gone, I will hold you personally responsible." I watched as he gulped and nodded. I pinned him with a glare. "Behave." I ordered, and then I followed the team down the stairs and into the basement.

**R&S R&S R&S R&S R&S**

**Lester's POV**

After Ranger and the guys left, I made a final round on the control room floor. It was nearing 2200 hours, and it had been a long day. Vince was on monitor duty, and I walked over to him. "Stephanie is not to leave the building. If she needs to go anywhere, let me know, and I'll take her."

He nodded his understanding, looking nervous. I knew why. Steph wasn't exactly a _play by the rules_ kind of girl. She had been known to stun gun a RangeMan or two to get out of the building when she was on lockdown. I was just hoping for all of our sakes that she was planning on staying put until the team got back from Montana.

I jogged down to my apartment on four and collapsed into bed. I needed to be up in time to workout and then run the Morning Meeting. If there was any chance at all of that happening, I needed to go to bed. Now.

**R&S R&S R&S R&S**

**Ranger's POV**

The plane touched down in Montana, and we stepped out, headed towards a couple of beat-up pick-up trucks that we had waiting for us at the airport. They were filled with camouflage and bright orange hunting clothes as well as rifles. We had researched the area well and found that that section of woods was primarily used by hunters. There was only one road into the cabin, and it would look a lot less suspicious if Yoman came across a couple trucks of hunters than if he found several black SUVs filled with SWAT team members.

We drove along the deserted stretch of road, never meeting another vehicle. We pulled in and parked behind the cabin, making sure that our trucks weren't visible from the road. We quickly worked our way through the cabin, clearing one room at a time. It was empty.

The cabin itself was pretty nice for a hunting cabin. It had a large front room that consisted of a kitchen, dining room, family room combination. There was a full bath with running water from an on-site well just down the hall as well as two bedrooms that each held two sets of bunk beds. A set of stairs in the family room led to a second floor loft master bedroom. The whole thing was made of rough hewn wood, and you could tell that many hours had been spent building each section.

Once we had determined that there was no one there, I gave everyone their assignments. Each member of our team had been chosen based on their individual skill sets, so their assignments were no big surprise. The reasons to include Tank were too numerous and obvious to need mentioned. He was my right hand man. Enough said. Ram was our sniper. He set out to look for high ground- the roof, a tree, a hill, whatever he could find. He needed a clear shot of the road out, just in case. Hal was our technology guy. He was in charge of setting up the motion sensors along the road so that we'd know if anyone was coming. Cal was our licensed crime scene tech. He was on hand to preserve the chain of evidence in case we found anything that needed to be turned over to the local police. And Bobby was our medic. He stored his medical equipment in one of the back bedrooms.

Once Ram and Hal had left to complete their individual tasks, Bobby, Tank, Cal, and I put on gloves and began searching the cabin for anything that might be helpful to us or the local PD. Tank gave a signal whistle from one of the back bedrooms, and we all immediately stopped searching our rooms and headed back. He was standing in the middle of the room and had us stop at the door.

I raised an eyebrow at him, silently asking what was going on. Had he found something? Was the room boobytrapped? What was going on?

He leaned down and picked up the large area rug that covered most of the open floor space in the room, exposing a trap door. Bobby let out a low whistle.

I looked up at him. "You check it out yet?" I asked. He shook his head no.

Cal walked over and opened the door. Once it was opened, we could see a set of stairs leading down to a basement. Cal pulled a MagLite off his utility belt and turned it on, headed down the stairs. He did a cursory sweep and came back up.

"It looks like the basement is under the entire house, or at least most of it." He had a grim look on his face. "I think that's going to be my new assigned area to search."

I looked at him. "What did you find?"

He shook his head. "A bedroom, den, and a few other junk rooms. Lots of hunting equipment, but lots of other stuff, too."

I raised an eyebrow, encouraging him to elaborate.

"Sex toys, restraints, a sex swing, magazines, videos." He paused. "The floor is concrete. There's a lot of bloodstains. Could be animal. Could be human. Could be both."

I nodded. "Anything else that would connect them with the crimes the local PD are investigating?"

Cal shrugged. "Possibly. I'll have to go through the rooms pretty thoroughly to see. It's possible that some of the homemade VHS tapes and DVDs hold evidence of things that happened here."

"Bag them all and ship them to the police department. Let them sift through it. That way you can concentrate on everything else that's down there. Look for anything that could have belonged to the missing girls, anything that could have been a murder weapon."

Cal nodded and headed back towards the stairs.

"You gonna need help?" I asked.

Cal nodded, looking relieved.

I looked at Bobby and inclined my head towards the trap door. There was nothing medical for Bobby to do right now. He could play grunt to Cal while Tank and I planned our return flight to Trenton.

The two of them headed down the stairs armed with evidence baggies, swabs, canisters, cameras, and Cal's tool kit.

**Lester's POV**

I swaggered over to Steph's cubicle and leaned against the entrance. "Hey, Beautiful!"

She looked up and smiled and me. "Hey, Les! What's up?"

"Just wanted to let you know that Ranger checked in. They're stationed at the cabin, waiting for Morelli to show up."

She blew out a breath and nodded. "Thanks for letting me know."

I smiled. "And I was hoping you'd want to join me for lunch."

She perked back up again. "Pino's?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

I grinned and crossed my arms over my chest. "Wherever you want!"

She jumped up and gave me a hug. "Let's go now!"

I shook my head at her enthusiasm and wrapped my arm around her waist. "Let's go!" I echoed.

We rode the elevator down to the lobby and hopped into my Escalade. Stephanie jumped when I turned the key and the radio blasted on.

"I thought I was the only one who listened to rock and heavy metal at deafening levels!" she teased as I turned the volume down just slightly.

KISS blared through the speakers, and Stephanie started dancing in her seat as we both screamed, "I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day!" By the time we got to Pino's, we were both laughing with huge smiles on our faces.

I jumped down out of the SUV and walked around to meet Steph. When I got to her side of the car, I saw her still sitting in her seat. She had her hand pressed to her forehead and a funny look on her face. I opened the door and looked at her, concerned. "What's up, Beautiful?"

She gave me a shaky smile. "I just felt a little funny for a minute there."

I drew my eyebrows together. "Funny how?"

She shook her head. "A little dizzy. I'm probably just hungry." She turned and angled her legs out the door. I held out my hand, and she grabbed it, stepping out of the car.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, I watched her face pale and her eyes flutter closed. Her body went limp, and she started to fall.

"Steph!" I yelled, grabbing her around the waist. "Stephanie!"

She didn't respond at all, and I gathered her up in my arms. Her limbs hung limply, and her head was thrown back over my elbow. My heart was beating at least twice as fast as normal. "Come on, Beautiful!" I begged. "Wake up! Talk to me!"

I looked up at the restaurant and saw several faces pressed against the glass, taking in everything that was happening. A few cops had trickled out into the parking lot. Carl and Big Dog pushed past them and ran over to me.

"What happened?" Carl questioned. He reached over and brushed his hand across Steph's cheek.

I shook my head. "I don't know, man. She didn't get out of the car right away, and when I came around she said she was feeling a little dizzy. She thought she was just hungry."

Big Dog leaned down to his shoulder radio and requested an ambulance. Carl started talking in a low, soothing voice as he stroked Stephanie's hair. "Hey, Steph. Come on, honey, wake up. We've got meatball subs, Sleeping Beauty. Come on!"

Nothing.

Carl opened the rear passenger door of the Escalade and took Steph while I climbed in. Once I was situated, he handed her back, laying her across my lap. I brushed her hair back and tucked a curl behind her ear, and she stirred.

"Carlos?" she asked softly, her eyes still closed.

I let out a deep breath. "He's not here right now, Beautiful. It's Les. Open your eyes for me."

She raised her hand just slightly and whispered, "Carlos, my head hurts."

My heart clenched. Ranger would die if he knew that Steph was calling for him and he wasn't here.

I rubbed her temple gently. "I know, Beautiful. We're gonna get you all checked out."

She opened her eyes then and blinked several times, trying to focus. "Les?" she asked, confused.

She tried to sit up, but I gently pushed her back down. "Stay still, Steph." I coaxed in a quiet voice.

She wrinkled her forehead. "What happened? I thought you promised me Pino's!"

I laughed quietly. "We're in the parking lot right now."

She still looked confused. "Then why are we sitting out here? Let's go eat!" As if to punctuate that thought, her stomach growled in agreement.

Now I was torn. She seemed fine. Did I take her in and let her eat? Or did I insist that she go to the hospital and get checked out? Either way, someone was gonna be pissed at me. If I didn't get her looked over, Ranger would have my ass in a sling. If I deprived Steph of a meatball sub, she would never forgive me. And of course, just at that moment, the ambulance pulled in, complete with lights and siren.

Stephanie glared at me. "That had better not be for me, Les."

When I hesitated, she added "I mean it! I am _not_ going to the hospital right now! I am going to eat lunch!"

I eased out of the SUV, holding her carefully. "Let's just have them check you over, OK? If they don't see anything, we'll go get lunch." I thought that was a fair compromise. Guess who didn't.

She glared. "I swear to God, Les. If I end up in the hospital, I am going to castrate you!"

I winced. "Damn, Beautiful!" I muttered. "That's harsh!"

She stuck her tongue out at me. "I don't think you fully realize how hungry I am."

I nodded. I guess not.

Carl had motioned the ambulance over near our SUV, so I just had to step out and lean forward a little to sit her on the gurney in the back. The EMTs fussed over her, taking her blood pressure, pulse, heart rate, temperature, listening to her lungs and heart, and checking her pupils.

One of them motioned for me to come over. "Everything checks out OK. Ms. Plum's blood pressure is a little low. That could have caused the dizziness, but at this point there's nothing further that we need to do. If she continues to have issues, though, you should have it checked out."

I nodded, and Stephanie stuck her tongue out at me as she hopped down off of the gurney. I watched the color drain from her face as she grabbed the edge of the bed.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Dizzy again?"

She bit her lip and shook her head no. Liar. "Stephanie…" I said in a warning tone of voice, my arms crossed over my chest.

She blew out a breath. "I'm just hungry! Come on, let's go eat. If I'm still dizzy after I eat, I'll go to St. Francis. Willingly."

I nodded once, and the EMTs had her sign a couple of papers. Grabbing her elbow, I steered her into the restaurant and towards an empty table in the back. We ordered our food, and when it came, she devoured hers so quickly that I thought maybe that _had_ been the cause of all of her problems. She sucked down a second Coke while I finished my lunch, and we got ready to head back to RangeMan.

I stood up and grabbed the bill off of the table, reaching a hand out to Steph. She grabbed it, and I playfully tugged on her hand, pulling her up. I watched as her face paled, and she grabbed frantically for the table or the back of the booth, anything to hold onto. Damn it! Why did Bobby have to be in Montana with Ranger?

I wrapped an arm around her waist just as she swayed forward. I used the other hand to pull a twenty out of my pocket. I tossed the bill and the cash on the counter and helped Stephanie out to the car, not bothering to wait for change.

Her eyes were wide and panicked as I lifted her up into the car. "Why am I so dizzy?" she whispered.

I leaned over and buckled her seat belt. "I don't know, Beautiful, but we're going to find out."

She bit her lip and a few tears leaked out of her eyes. "Are you taking me to St. Francis?"

I leaned against the open SUV door. "Yes. And you promised to go willingly after lunch." I reminded her.

She nodded. "OK." She replied weakly.

I felt a shiver race down my back. Her willingness to go to the ER spurred me on like nothing else. Stephanie _never_ wanted to go to the hospital. If she was actually _willing_ to go, that meant she was in serious pain or scared shitless. Her wide eyes blinked at me. Yep. Scared shitless.

**Ranger's POV**

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I reached down to pull it out. 1 new text. Open. _At St. Francis with Steph, waiting on test results. Everything's OK. Call when you can._ Fuck. I immediately hit the speed dial for Lester's phone, and he answered on the first ring.

"Yo!"

"What the fuck is going on? What are you doing at the ER? Is Stephanie hurt?" The words tumbled out before I could stop them. I shook my head. I sounded like Stephanie. Rambling on and on.

"She's fine, she's fine!" Lester rushed to assure me.

"If she's fine, then why the hell are you at St. Francis?"

Lester sighed. "She's been dizzy all morning. Passed out on me once and just wobbly two more times. A couple of EMTs checked her out at Pino's and couldn't find anything significant. They said if it happened again, I should get her checked out. We ate lunch, and she got dizzy again when we got up to leave. So I brought her in."

I nodded. At least he was taking his job of watching over her seriously. "And?"

"And we're waiting. They took blood and scheduled some other tests. They think maybe she's anemic, but it could just be an inner ear infection or fluid trapped in the ear canal."

I rubbed my forehead. "Let me talk to her."

I could hear Lester pass the phone over and then a wobbly voice asked "Carlos?"

My heart constricted. "Babe! How are you feeling?"

"OK now. When will you be back?" She was scared. I could hear it in her voice.

I scrubbed my hand over my face. "I don't know. We're still waiting for Morelli. He hasn't shown up yet, but we expect him any time now."

She took a deep, shuddering breath. "OK." She whispered.

"It'll be OK, Babe. Whatever it is, we'll deal with it. Les said it's prob'ly an inner ear infection or fluid build-up. Those are both easy to solve. No reason to worry."

"I know." She whispered.

"Let me talk to Les again."

She passed the phone back over, and Les gave me a "Yo," so I'd know he was on the line.

"She sounds terrible. What the hell happened?"

I could hear Lester walking. "I'm in the hall outside her exam room." He said in a lowered voice. "She's scared. She passed out in the parking lot of Pino's. She was out for a good five minutes before she came around. She doesn't know what's going on." He paused. "She came into the ER willingly."

Crap. He knew that would tell me how serious it was. How scared she was. Stephanie never went to the hospital willingly.

Tank motioned at me to get my attention. I looked up, and he gave me the _wrap it up_ signal. "Morelli's on the way in." he mouthed.

"Santos, I've gotta go. Morelli's on his way in." I was just about to hang up, when I heard a voice on the other end say "Ms. Plum! We have your test results here, and I'd like to go over them with you." Shit. Now I wanted to know what was going on with Stephanie.

"Lester!" I barked, making sure he didn't disconnect.

"Yeah?"

"Put your phone on speaker. I wanna hear the results."

"I thought you said Morelli was on his way in?"

"He is. Put the damn phone on speaker. I want to know what's wrong with Stephanie."

I heard the crunch of gravel as Morelli pulled up outside the front of the cabin. Tank raised an eyebrow at me.

I covered the phone. "Steph's in the ER. I'm waiting on test results." I told him in a clipped tone. He straightened his back and nodded once. I knew he understood.

"Ms. Plum, we think your dizziness was caused by several factors. One large factor is your lack of blood and fluids. From what you've told me, you had a large quantity of blood removed from your body just yesterday. Your body has not had time to replace all of that, and you have not been drinking enough fluids to _help_ your body replace it."

I clenched my fists. Damn Morelli!

I moved out of the front room and into the back bedroom so that I was out of the way when the asshole walked in. I couldn't very well tackle him to the floor while I was on the phone with the ER doctor. Well, I could, but I wanted to fully concentrate on what he was saying.

"On top of that, you have a history of low blood pressure. That in and of itself can sometimes cause episodes of vertigo or dizziness."

Tank ordered the men into position, and I heard safetys click off around the room.

"There are many factors at play here, Ms. Plum, but I'd have to say that the one particular factor that probably played the largest role is that ..."

The front door opened, and I heard the men yelling "Down on the ground! Freeze, asshole! Hands where I can see 'em!" There were several loud thuds and the sound of heavy footsteps as one of the teams ran out to secure Morelli's truck.

"…you're pregnant. Congratulations!"

**TBC**

**I think just one chapter left (maybe 2)! Thanks again for all of the encouragement! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

Bold section from Chapter 19

"**There are many factors at play here, Ms. Plum, but I'd have to say that the one particular factor that probably played the largest role is that ..."**

**The front door opened, and I heard the men yelling "Down on the ground! Freeze, asshole! Hands where I can see 'em!" There were several loud thuds and the sound of heavy footsteps as one of the teams ran out to secure Morelli's truck.**

"…**you're pregnant. Congratulations!"**

Chapter 20

**Ranger's POV**

I was stunned. There was no other word for it. This whole baby situation had been a rollercoaster from the beginning. When Steph first thought she might be pregnant, I was upset about it. Not that I didn't want to have a baby with her, I just didn't think this was the right time for me to have any more kids. And Steph had been an absolute nervous wreck at even the thought of having a baby. Once we'd both gotten used to the idea, the test had been negative. She wasn't pregnant. Now she was? I rubbed my hand across my face.

I could hear her talking to the doctor in a confused voice. "But I just took a test a few days ago. It was negative. And I got my period. Oh, God! Does that mean that something's wrong? Was I having a miscarriage?"

The doctor answered in a reassuring voice. "Many women continue to have some light spotting during pregnancy, especially in the beginning. Some even have heavy periods the first few months. Your bloodwork is still showing that you're pregnant, so I think it's unlikely that you were having a miscarriage. But we're going to take you down to ultrasound now just to check everything out. As far as the home test goes, those often give a false negative, especially in the early stages of pregnancy."

There was silence on the other end of the line. I could picture Stephanie trying to digest all of the information she had just learned. "Babe?" I spoke up.

"I'm here." She replied in a dazed voice.

"Morelli's here. We have him in custody. I'm headed back now, OK? I'll be there in a couple of hours."

Lester laughed. "She nodded. I think she's in shock right now."

I didn't blame her. I knew I was!

"I love you, Babe. I'll see you in a few hours."

"I love you, too." She replied softly.

I ended the call and headed out to the front room. My plan was to load Morelli into the back of one of the pick-up trucks and head for the airport, but when I saw him, I was consumed with rage. I flew across the room and grabbed him out of Tank's grip. I picked him up under the arms and threw him into the wall. Aiming my boot at his stomach, I drew back and kicked as hard as I could.

He doubled over in pain and groaned, "What the fuck, man?"

I leaned down and picked him up, shoving his back against the wall. I used my forearm to hold his neck to the wall, and he struggled to breathe. Tank took a step closer, but with one look from me, he froze.

I leaned down and growled in Morelli's face. "You took my woman. My _pregnant_ woman! And locked her in a closet on Stark Street. A closet filled with roaches and garbage. And that was after you had drawn vial after vial of blood out of her arm. You had better pray that nothing you did hurt her or my baby!"

He gasped for air, his eyes growing wide, and I moved my arm back just a fraction of an inch. "I didn't know she was pregnant." He rasped.

I narrowed my eyes. "It doesn't matter, you dumb fucker." I grit out. "It wouldn't have been OK to treat her like that even if she _wasn't_ pregnant."

He nodded.

"I told you that the next time you laid a hand on her I would kill you."

His eyes got even wider, and he began to struggle against my grip in earnest.

I gave him a cold sneer. "Give it up, Morelli. If I choose to kill you, you're not going to get away from me."

I shoved him onto the floor, and he scrambled to his feet.

I advanced towards him. "Maybe I should treat you the same way you treated Steph. Smack you around, leave handprints all over your body, draw vials of blood out of your arm."

He paled at that and backed towards the door.

I lunged at him and took him down easily, landing punch after punch in his face, in his stomach. Tank finally pulled me off of him, and Morelli rolled over on his side in a fetal position. He started coughing and finally spit out a mouthful of blood and a couple of teeth. I was breathing heavily and struggling against the bear hug that Tank had me in, my arms pinned against my sides.

Bobby was standing next to me with a needle. I knew what was in it. A sedative. I glared at him. "I don't need that!"

Bobby raised an eyebrow at me, obviously doubting my ability to control myself.

I broke out of Tank's hold and struggled to regulate my breathing. Cal and Hal stood in between me and Morelli, forming a wall to stop me from going after him again. Ram was still outside, watching the road in.

Tank held his hands up, palms out, showing me that he wasn't a threat as he advanced towards me. "Look, man. You said you wanted to bring him back alive. You said it would be a worse punishment if he had to stand trial and go to prison. If you want to kill him here and now, by all means, have at it. You know that I am sure as fuck not gonna stop you. But make your decision with a clear head. Cuz once you kill him, we can't undo that."

I nodded. I knew what he was saying. When Tank and I had talked, I had told him that I wanted Morelli brought back to New Jersey alive. Stephanie wanted him alive. She wanted him to get up on the stand and admit what he had done to her. She wanted him to be sentenced and go to prison. She wanted the Burg to know that I was innocent and he was guilty. If I killed him now, I'd feel good. Really good in fact. For a little while. But it wasn't what Steph wanted. And really, it wasn't what I wanted either. I wanted him to suffer, and I didn't have enough time right now to enjoy killing him slowly. It would be much better to take him back to Trenton and let the criminals in jail do the job for me. Cops never lasted long in jail. And I was sure that Morelli wouldn't be the exception to that rule.

I looked at Tank. "Toss him in a truck and let's get out of here."

Tank nodded and lifted him up. We all marched out to the two pick-ups and loaded our gear. I purposely didn't ride in Morelli's truck, not trusting myself to leave him alive if I was within reach of his throat. Instead, he rode with Ram, Cal, and Hal.

I let Tank drive, and I rode shotgun, Bobby in the small backseat behind us. The drive to the airstrip was silent, and I calmed myself with thoughts of my Babe growing round with my baby. A beautiful baby girl with dark skin, blue eyes, and wild curly hair.

Tank finally broke the silence, looking over at me out of the corner of his eye. "So Bomber's really pregnant?"

I give a slight nod. "That's what the ER doctor says."

Bobby leaned forward, concerned. "Why's she in the ER?"

I scrubbed my hands across my face. "Lester said she was dizzy all day today. She passed out once and was wobbly two other times. He took her to St. Francis to get checked out."

Bobby nodded. "They think it was cuz she's pregnant?"

I growled. "Partially. They said that the blood loss from Morelli's dumbass move yesterday didn't help. Plus she has low blood pressure to begin with."

Bobby let out a low whistle. "Yeah, that combination would cause you to be dizzy alright."

We pulled into the airport and got ready to climb out of the truck. I turned to Tank. "Keep him out of my sight and out of my reach, or I'll fucking kill him."

Tank nodded. "No problem, man."

He jumped out of the truck and strode over to Morelli's ride. He hauled him out, none too gently, and got him secured in the plane before walking over to me. "He's in the front of the plane, handcuffed, shackled, and gagged. You go sit in the back bedroom and make some calls. See how Bomber is."

I bumped his fist in thanks and climbed into the plane. I headed for the bedroom in the very back without even looking at Morelli. I was afraid that if I saw him, I would charge straight towards him. And I didn't want to kill him on my plane. It would be a pain in the ass to get the blood out of the carpet and the leather seats.

**Steph's POV**

I was sitting on the bed several hours later, still in shock from the news of my pregnancy, when I heard Carlos's voice. "Where is she? Is she OK?"

I heard Hector, the guard outside my door, reassure him that I was just fine and motion him into my exam room. He rushed over to the bed, and I launched myself into his arms.

"You were right, Babe." He whispered, stroking my hair and back.

I pulled back, confused. "I was right about what?"

"You said you were sure you were pregnant. That you had been almost positive. You were right."

I smiled and nodded. Yeah, I had been! Go me!

He raised an eyebrow at me. "So when can we get you out of here?"

I crossed my arms across my chest and blew out a huffy breath. "I've been wondering the same thing!"

A few minutes later, Bobby came in with a stack of papers. "You ready to hit the road, Bomber?" he asked teasingly.

I rolled my eyes at him. "You have no idea!"

He motioned for Hector to come in, and he did. Pushing a wheelchair. Oh, hell no!

I glared at Bobby. "I am not riding in that thing. I am perfectly fine."

Bobby shrugged. "It's hospital policy."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "They bend every other damn rule for RangeMan! Why can't they bend this one?"

Carlos broke out in a full fledged grin. "Babe! Are you using my name to get special treatment around here?"

I blushed a bright red. "No! Well, Lester might have. But just to get us some blankets from the warmer and the red Jell-O instead of the yellow kind."

He let out a bark of laughter and shook his head. Picking me up, he turned around and sat down in the wheelchair, holding me on his lap. "There. She's in the wheelchair. Now everybody will be happy." He leaned down and nipped my ear. "Is this good enough for you, Babe? We bending the rules enough?"

I punched him lightly on the arm. "Smartass!"

Hector wheeled us out to the curb where Tank was waiting. Behind him there were three more black SUVs.

"Are we leading a freakin' parade or what?" I asked in amazement.

Carlos just shook his head. "Everyone wanted to check on their Bombshell."

I smiled. "Aww! My Merry Men are so sweet!"

Carlos just smirked. "Don't let them hear you calling them that, Babe."

"What? Merry Men? I call them that all the time!"

"No, sweet."

I pressed my lips against his throat. "I thought you liked it when I called you sweet."

He groaned. "Only in bed, Babe." He replied huskily.

My eyes twinkled. Good to know!

I looked up as the doors opened on all four of the SUVs. The Merry Men piled out and formed a semi-circle around us. Carlos cleared his throat and looked down at me. "There's actually another reason all of the guys are here, Babe."

I looked up at him, confused. "There is?"

He smiled and nodded. "The plane is fueled up and ready to go, and we were all hoping that you'd want to take a trip with us."

I wrinkled my forehead. "A trip? To where?"

"Las Vegas."

"Is there a skip out there or something?"

Carlos smiled and shook his head no.

"Then what…"

He took my hands and looked deep into my eyes. "Stephanie, a month ago you chose me. Over Joe. Over any other guy. And I wanted you to know that I have made the same choice. I choose you. Forever. For always." He pulled out a ring box, and I pressed my hands to my mouth.

"I know we haven't really talked about marriage, but I love you, Stephanie, and I'll love you forever."

He paused and searched my face, trying to gauge my reaction. "The plane is ready to go. We can be in Vegas in hours and get married tonight. Or we can just go out there to celebrate our engagement with the guys and get married later. Or never. We can just be engaged forever. Whatever you want. As long as we're together. What do you say?"

I shook my head slightly, trying to reorganize my thoughts. "You want to fly out to Vegas tonight with all the guys and get married?" I asked, incredulously.

He nodded.

What had happened to Ranger? The guy who kept his private life private and didn't advertise it to the guys? The guy who didn't do relationships, period. I smiled. I guess he had become Carlos. My fiancé. Wow.

He looked at me nervously. "Well?"

I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him hungrily. The guys laughed and whistled. I flipped them off with one hand while the other tangled in Carlos's silky hair.

He stood up and carried me over to the SUV, gently placing me in the back seat.

Six short hours later, Carlos was again scooping me up and carrying me towards a car, but this time it was a stretch limo, and we were heading towards our honeymoon suite, where we planned on celebrating our marriage again and again and again…

**Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story! Your encouragement means more than I can say! At some point I may do a sequel to this story, but most likely not any time soon. The "focus" of this story was Steph and Carlos choosing each other, so I think this was the best way to end it. At least for now. ;)**


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